Mulroy & the Greeks

In response to the question about Mulroy and the Greeks, I read that Mulroy says that the Greeks came up with a revolutionary method of writing, that shaped the way we think about writing and our present-day writing styles. The idea for the Greek alphabet apparently originated with the Phoenicians, who were the inhabitants of what is now Lebanon, and were at the fore of international trade and navigation during the dark ages. Because of the early Greek alphabet, we are blessed with the Latin alphabet, which we use, and the Cyrillic alphabet, used more commonly by the Slavic peoples, like Russia and the Czech Republic. Some of his contemporaries would say that the Greeks mostly communicated orally, and really had no need for a written language. However, Mulroy says that the written language served as a 'tipping point,' and led to the great advances we now have. I agree with Mulroy, and do not think that the world would be what it is today without the Greeks, and their strides in advancing language and knowledge.

Steve Martin in one of his best roles

SWE: Do we need it?

Well, if it were not for the institute of Standard Written English, I do not think many people would know how to communicate the way we need to in this modern world. I mean, how silly would it seem if a sentence were phrased like, "I seen them walking, and I ain't sure, but thinks I seen him murderize her life." Some of the preceding sentence is used in common lingo, either to just be playful and silly, or because we do not always talk as we write, and we cannot be anal with our word-usage at all times. Then we would be teachers. Oops! I kid, I kid, because even teachers do not necessarily talk as they would have us write.

The question now is: if SWE is a good idea, then how do we go about teaching it? I say that there should be an equal mix of theory and practice, live and let learn. Perhaps the instruction would begin at a young age, and the pupil would be guided firmly yet kindly, not dashing the hopes of the child, nor coddling them, because both of those alternatives do not lead to anything fruitful. As the instruction progressed, and the child got older and more learned in the ways of SWE, they would be guided to put their knowledge to practical use, such as tutoring the younger ages in the ways. Kinda like Jedis and their Padawans.