What are the Rules of English ?

All languages have rules and once you know these you should have a grasp on how to communicate effectively. Learning the conventions of language ensures that communication is clear and effective. Language is all about communicating with people. Writing, for example, has different rules to those used when speaking. When speaking you may be more informal and use body language to get your message across. In writing, you need to follow the rules of the language you're writing in. How often have you been in a situation where something has been communicated badly and everyone is left confused? The English language is perhaps one of the trickiest to learn because there appears to be so many rules. The English language is tricky because it has been influenced by other languages such as French, German, Latin, Greek, Scandinavian, Arabic and Indian. It is little wonder that even professional writers such as editors and journalists don't always communicate clearly. When writing quickly the rules of English are occasionally forgotten. Journalists, for example, are often under the pressure of time to write articles and headlines. Sometimes headlines can have more than one meaning. Words in Context To use words as building blocks properly you need to work out how they are used with other words. You need to look at how a word is used in context. This way you'll become a master of working with words; a wordsmith! If you really want to communicate well, it is important to learn how to manipulate the words you use and make them work for you. Let's have a look at an example showing how words are used in different ways. Communicating Clearly It is important to be precise when using the English language. If we are not precise our words can be ambiguous or read in ways that we did not intend. In order to communicate clearly we need to understand the rules of language. Imagine playing a football match or a game of chess without rules. Just like the rules of a game there are rules to consider when using the English language. These guidelines for using language will help you to be precise and to communicate clearly. Mastering the Rules When we have a good understanding of the rules of the English language we can begin to play with them and to have fun with words. Once the rules are mastered we can then use tools such as ambiguity deliberately. In this cartoon ambiguity has been used as a tool to provide humour. When we have a solid grasp of how to use the English language we can use it to fulfil our purposes, whether that be to make an audience laugh, to move them to tears or simply to communicate our ideas.