Re: Learning English Thread

[Romay Jean Sitze <rositze -at- NMSU -dot- EDU>]

On Mon, 4 Dec 1995, David Dvorkin wrote:

> Is diagramming peculiarly American?  (It certainly is peculiar!)
> I'd never heard of it until I came to this country, and I never did
> get the hang of it -- or want to.  It seems to add an unnecessary
> layer of complication:  the student must learn the rules of
> diagramming in addition to those of grammer.

I don't know whether diagramming is limited to Americans. I do know that
not all of our teachers teach it.  I personally have mixed feelings about
diagramming.  I loved it myself--just as I love working crosswords.  I
find it an intriguing challenge.  As to the value, I know of nothing that
so clearly establishes the relationships between the various parts of a
sentence. An awareness of this helps us know exactly what is being
said--and whether it is what we want to say.  Many people seem to be able
to pick this skill up without resorting to diagramming, but I've seen a
lot of writing that would have been improved considerably if the writer
had had to learn grammar with the kind of thoroughness that diagramming
teaches.

        RoMay Sitze,  rositze -at- nmsu -dot- edu