Grammamanti

Who can call themselves a ‘grammamante’? Someone who loves language in a non-confrontational way, studies it, and thus realises that they must allow it to change freely in line with the evolution of society – that is, with the ways people use it in everyday speech.

To be a ‘grammarnazi’ means defending the language by shutting oneself away in a fortress of certainties that are as monolithic as they are almost always flimsy; those who choose to embrace the ‘grammamante’ philosophy, on the other hand, are not afraid to abandon ‘linguistic flatness’—that is, the belief that the words we use are sacred, immutable and unchanging. Because, fortunately, despite the violent determination of those who would like them to remain forever the same, words do change: some evolve, others die out, whilst still others are born. And all this depends on us speakers: there is no Academy that can truly dictate how we may use them; it is we who decide and allow change.

It is time to stop being ‘grammar Nazis’ and return to loving our language, appreciating it for what it truly is: a powerful tool for understanding ourselves and building the better society we would like to see.