REX'S VEXATIONS is the column from Esperance Express Journalist Rex Drabik.
On those rare occasions when he isn't working, Rex enjoys travelling, history, politics, economics, socialising, reading and ranting.
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IT'S always impressive when you meet Europeans who can switch seamlessly between several languages, including English.
Most Europeans under the age of 40 can speak multiple languages at an impressively high level and can probably write better English than some monolingual Australians.
Worse still, they can probably also speak better English than many Australians.
Despite all the talk of Australia being a "knowledge nation" with higher levels of educational attainment than ever before, it seems that far too many of our people struggle to communicate in their first and only language, particularly when it comes to the written form.
I'm not referring to Australian English, with all its colourful quirks and particularities.
Rather, I'm talking about those who are seemingly unable to form a coherent written sentence or spell basic words.
Now, given my profession, I may be a bit of a snob when its comes to literacy.
Nevertheless, I am continually appalled by the now commonplace butchering of the English language here in Australia.
Maybe the decline in literacy standards can be attributed to the rise of internet and text speak.
Or maybe the decline is due to a generational change in teaching methods.
There has been a lot of scorn poured on some of the "new age" teaching methods employed in Australian schools. Perhaps the critics have a valid point.
A less palatable explanation is that we are, as a society, gradually becoming dumber.
A 2013 report comparing Australian high school students with 65 other countries showed the country was slipping further behind in reading skills.
Whatever the reason for this decline, I'm sure we can all agree that it is a worrying trend with broader social, intellectual and economic implications.
English is actually a fascinating language when you stop to consider it.
What emerged as an obscure Germanic mongrel tongue on an island in northwest Europe has come to be the undisputed lingua franca of the globe.
With the rest of the world clamoring to learn English, it's a pity some of us native-speakers here in Australia are unable or unwilling to properly master our mother tongue.
What do you think? Are we paying enough attention to declining reading and writing standards? Post your comments below.
