Parse Wars - Episode II: Attack of the Drones

For over a thousand years, Grammarians were the guardians of speech and language in the galaxy...before the dark times...before the Empire...

At an early age--before I knew I wanted to be a writer or an English teacher--I was fascinated by language. I felt there was a magic to it going beyond the literal meanings of words. Why did this person use this word and not another in this case?

Avid readers know the right words in the right place work wonders, yet so much of our culture has come to treat language casually--as if precise words, phrases, and punctuation were irrelevant. While precise language aids communication, imprecise language breaks it down.

British author John Humphrys points out the trend has reached the highest levels of government.