Question:
I'm a Japanese.
Japanese people usually don't consult Japanese grammar books
when they write business or any formal documents.
Actually I have never read a (modern) Japanese grammar book.
And it's hard to find Japanese grammar books in bookstores in Japan.
So my question is:
Do Americans(or native English speakers) consult English grammar books
when they write formal documents?
By grammar, I mean pure grammar(i.e. nouns, verbs, tense, etc.).
Answer:
William Empson writes somewhere that there's always been somebody
correcting other people's grammar. I myself think it represents
the birth of language. Grammar books carry on that tradition,
but are not consulted. They're ceremonial in that function.
The hard thing in English is figuring out how it is that you know
what you know. A good grammar book might tease out what rule
you in fact follow, and be interesting for that reason. Often
there are so many cases that even a teased-out rule is unconvincing.
I suppose grammar books are responsible for hypercorrection,
a grammar mistake made out of fear that the correct and correct-sounding
alternative choice is wrong, but I don't think actual consulting
is needed, just a certain level of nervousness.
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