Before MPs head off for their summer break, Parliament has been a hive of activity as the race to find a new prime minister hots up. But what’s grammar got to do with Parliament…?! A recent article raised a very interesting point when it came to grammar, whether it’s a class construct and the Deputy Labour Leader Angela Rayner.
It’s all in the Hansard record…
The MP revealed that she declined the request for Hansard, the record of parliamentary speeches, to correct her grammar. Angela is proud of the image she’s built of herself as a plain-speaking woman from a working-class background. The reason why this is at odds with Hansard is because of the reason for Hansard existing in the first place: Hansard’s purpose is to provide a record of what is said in the House of Commons. But contrary to popular belief, this record does not have to be a verbatim one. It should instead present a broadly accurate but intelligible account of what has been said by our elected representatives.
The example Angela gave to iterate the issue was when she was approached to change the record of her speech from her use of “less” rather than “fewer”. She was presented with a suggested change to maintain grammar, but declined the request to preserve what she called a “natural delivery”.
Is grammar a class construct?
Grammar is obviously something we’re hot on here at Fiona Shipley transcription. Getting it right for our clients is very much expected and we deliver.
But it begs a very interesting question: If “correct” grammar is more the domain of the middle and upper classes, and less of the working classes, then by default, the suggestion is that grammar is a class construct. And who decides
Using correct grammar, speaking with complex words, using varied syntax doesn’t indicate whether someone is intelligent or not. It just shows they know the rules of grammar! We’re all different learners, and the place where we all learn the mechanics and foundations of the English Language – school – doesn’t always work for everyone. Indeed one of the most famous scientists in history, Albert Einstein, was dyslexic… and there’s certainly no question of his intelligence!
It’s an interesting one, and certainly provides some food for thought. There can be different reasons for making grammar mistakes but our team of professional transcribers have years of experience working with our clients, many of whom have style guides that tell us how they want the transcript to be produced. And it’s our job to follow it to the letter…
To book in for our quality transcription service please email alex@fionashipley.com.