Comprende?

Don't you think that there should be a higher standard for those who communicate publicly?

To use my other metaphor, it's one thing to serve a bad dinner to your family, but another for a caterer to serve it. You hold them to a higher standard. And if you were a caterer, wouldn't you want to know if your food was off? Especially if it's something you can fix? Even if it means getting some outside help?

I think we just don't want to strive for more, or ask for help, so we justify ourselves. We tell our critics that they are asking for too much, when perhaps the intention of the critic is to help us attain more.

Yes, language issues are not in the same category as morality, but communication is universal. Should we not strive to set standards so that we can all understand each other? Without communication skills good ideas can never come to fruition. Why do you think that English Composition is a required course for all first year post secondary students?

Matt has a speech delay. Sometimes he tells me about a 'nake'. Sure, I know he means snake, but others won't, and he IS able to make the 's' sound. There are other sounds that he hasn't been able to make, so I don't hold him accountable for them. I keep telling him that he needs to make all his sounds so that people will understand him. It's a terrible thing to not be understood.

If we keep on tolerating poor language skills pretty soon no one will understand anyone else. OK, maybe not that soon, but it's happening....

Yes, this is a response to Jude's comment. It was just too long for the comments section.