Gramer Girl here, I'm a neon-foggerty and you can think of me as your friendly guide to

the English language, writing history, rules, and cool stuff.

Today I have a meeting middle about the pros and cons of dumbing down your language and

a family-lect story about a studa-breaker.

Let's get started.

Sometimes listeners tell me that when they talk to other people and use standard English

grammar, they're probably going to be a bit more like a story of a story of a story

that they're perceived as stuck-up or pretentious.

But if they know the difference between who and whom, for example, why should we pretend

not to know?

Why should we have to, as one listener put it, quote, dumb things down for people we're

speaking to, unquote?

Today I'll tell you why adjusting your speech for different audiences can be smart, not

dumb.

We do a lot of things in different ways depending on whom we're with.

For example, you probably wouldn't wear a tuxedo to a job interview.

If you go to a job interview dressed in a business suit instead of a tuxedo, that doesn't

mean you're dumbing down the way you dress.

It means you know what kind of a tire is appropriate for the situation.

You also probably wouldn't wear pajamas to a family Thanksgiving dinner.

If you change out of those pajamas and put on some of your nicer clothes, that doesn't

mean you're being sneaky and hiding the way you really dress.

...