Revised

Americans should care a lot about these usage wars because it affects our everyday life. If the usage wars were to lean towards the prescriptivist side, then we would have more focus on correct grammar spelling and the standard written rules of English would be deemed “The Bible” of the latest generations. In a prescriptivist world, you would be judged more on your ability to use these grammar rules correctly than on your creativity, or even discourse community: “A fellow snoot I know likes to say that listening to most people’s English feels like watching somebody use a Stradivarius to pound nails.” This could make getting a career in which the employer holds these strict prescriptivist values a lot harder. When people place more focus on your standard written English above that of the actual meaning of your text, they could lose the point of the piece altogether.


Americans should care about these usage wars due to its relevance in our everyday life. If the usage wars resulted in a prescriptivist victory, then Americans would focus only on the correctness of their grammar; spelling and the standard written rules of English would be deemed “The Bible” of the latest generations. In a prescriptivist world, each would be judged more on their ability to use these grammar rules correctly than on creativity, or even discourse community: “A fellow snoot I know likes to say that listening to most people’s English feels like watching somebody use a Stradivarius to pound nails.” This quote shows that many prescriptivist feel annoyed when others disuse standard written English Consequently, obtaining a career in which the employer upholds strict prescriptivist values is suddenly more difficult. When people place more focus on standard written English above that of the actual meaning of their text, they lose the point and, more importantly, the depth of the piece altogether.