ACCOUNTS OF CHEXICAL RESEARCH” Registered in US.Patent and Trademark Office; Copyright 1986 by the American Chemical Society
VOLUME 19
NUMBER 4
APRIL,1986
EDITOR JOSEPH F. BUNNETT
Literacy under a Spell ASSOCIATE EDITORS Joel E. Keizer John E. McMurry EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Robert Abeles Richard Bernstein R. Stephen Berry Michel Boudart Maurice M. Bursey Charles R. Cantor Ernest R. Davidson Marshall Fixman Jenny P. Glusker Keith U. Ingold Maurice M. Kreevoy Theodore Kuwana Stephen J. Lippard James M. McBride Josef Michl Kenneth N. Raymond Jacob F. Schaefer Richard C. Schoonmaker
BOOKS AND JOURNALS DIVISION D. H. Michael Bowen, Director
Journals Department: Charles R. Bertsch, Head; Marianne C. Brogan, Associate Head; Mary E, Scanlan, Assistant Manager Production Department: Elmer M. Pusey, Jr., Head Research and Development Department: Lorrin R. Garson, Head
The American Chemical Society and its editors assume no responsibility for the statements and opinions advanced by contributors. Views expressed in the editorials are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the official position of the American Chemical Society. Registered names and trademarks, etc., used in this publication, even without specific indication thereof, are not to be considered unprotected by law.
Americans prize good spelling. A letter with any appreciable number of misspelled words makes a poor impression. At the elementary school level, spelling bees are popular, with the teachers who sponsor them and with parents. I suppose one reason for our obsession with spelling is that we can easily determine what is correct look up the word in the dictionary. The authority of the dictionary is unchallengeable, in the popular view. Philosophically, I prefer to think that the real authority for proper spelling should be the usage of scholars of distinction. Since I dream of myself as being of that classification, it should follow that I need not consult a dictionary, and spell words however it pleases me. Unfortunately my behavior shows lack of conviction in my dream; I did look up a couple of words to verify spelling even as I wrote this and the preceding paragraph. Moreover, we editors insist that authors practice good spelling as defined in Webster’s Dictionary. The English language was not always so regimented. Scribes prior to 1600 were refreshingly spontaneous. Consider for instance this excerpt from a 1525 will recorded in Diss, Norfolk, England “firste I bequethe my Soule to Almyghtie God to our lady synt Mary and to all the syntes in heven My body to be buried in the churche yard of our blessed lady in Dysse for sayd Item I bequethe to the hye Altar of Ddysse forsaid for my tythes forgotyn and not payed”. Can anyone have any doubt as to the meaning of this quaint passage? When it comes to grammar, Americans are much less concerned about strict conformance to authority. Transgressions, such as dangling participles, split infinitives, and the like, of not so arcane rules of English grammar occur regularly in the writing of Americans generally considered to be well-educated, not excepting American scientists. Maybe the finer rules of grammar are underemphasized in elementary and secondary education because the voice of authority is leas clear for grammar than for spelling;in order to comprehend a grammatical rule as applied in a particular case one must understand the structure of the sentence, and even some teachers may lack such understanding. The desire to teach authoritatively, without having to make judgments oneself, can also affect chemistry courses. Once I learned of a high school teacher whose class exams required the recall from memory of the names and empirical formulas of minerals, such as “Helvite, Mn4Be3Si3OI2S”.No doubt he would have felt insecure teaching interesting chemical principles and applications that he did not fully understand. If you, dear reader, happen to be a grammatical sinner who would like to gain salvation, you should read the book by Robert Schoenfeld, “The Chemist’s English”, recently published by VCH Verlag. Schoenfeld is exceptionally qualified to write on grammatical English inasmuch as he lived until teen-age years in Austria, where German prevails, studied as an undergraduate at a French institution in Shanghai,where he encountered French in the college and Chinese on the street, and has spent most of his adult career to date in Australia, where they speak Strine.’ He has just retired as editor of the Australian Journal of Chemistry, in which position he often dealt with the grammatical transgressions of Australian and New Zealand chemists, which seem to be much like those of Americans. In his book Schoenfeld discusses some of the finer points of English grammar with a style and sense of humor that make entertaining reading. Joseph F. Bunnett (1) This dialog illustrates Strine: Q. What is a bison? A. It’s what you wash your fice
in.
