INTERVIEW 9/2019 Spotlight 43
O
n any given day,
on Manhattan’s
Upper West Side,
you might find
Ellen Jovin sitting
at her Grammar
Table outside a
subway station, giving New Yorkers and
tourists free grammar advice. Ten years
ago, she set out on a project to learn as
many languages in 12 months as she
could. She didn’t stop, and up until now,
she has studied 21 languages. Last year,
she got the idea to set up a grammar ta-
ble on the street to talk to people about
her favorite subject. Since
then, Grammar Table has
become an institution in
her neighborhood, and
she has even taken it on
the road through the US.
Now, her husband, Brandt
Johnson, is making a docu-
mentary, Grammar Table: The
Movie, and she has also just
signed a deal for a Grammar
Table book. Spotlight spoke
to Ellen Jovin about her por table gram-
mar forum and people’s need to talk about
language.
How did you get the idea for Grammar
Table?
Ellen Jovin: Last summer, I was idling
about in the heat; and I spent a lot of time
on the internet connecting with language
learners from around the world. I just
thought it would be cool to stick a table
[on the street] and do what I do online.
I basically ask questions and people par-
ticipate in conversations. [I thought] it
would be fun to do that in person.
How was it for you?
It’s not easy to stick a table on the streets
of New York. Pretty much anything can
happen. There are odd people. People look
at you like there’s something wrong with
you, or you’re trying to get something
from them. I took the table, I put the sign
up, and had my first grammar discussion
in 30 seconds. A guy whose wife was an
editor!
What would you like to achieve with it?
The table isn’t a propaganda table. It’s a
table to talk about grammar. It’s a pretty
straightforward thing. I sit there: I’m not
trying to push a particular point of view;
I’m not trying to tell people how to talk;
I’m not criticizing people’s grammar.
That’s not the spirit of it at all. It’s a focal
point for people to come together and talk
about language.
What are some of the questions you get?
I had someone come up to Grammar
Table, a grown woman. She was so excited
because I told her the pronunciation she
was using for a particular word was fine.
Apparently, someone had made her feel
bad. I looked it up for her in two books.
This was for the word “finance,” which
has two active pronun-
ciations — [(faInÄns] or
[faI(nÄns]. She was jumping
up and down. She was with
her daughter, who was, like,
“OK, Mom.” She was so
relieved.
Do you get children, too?
A ten-year-old girl early
on in the life of Grammar
Table asked me why people
say: “There’s things to do.” Why do they
make a singular verb if there’s a plural
noun after “there”? She knew a plural
noun should have a plural verb, and it
should be “are.” Her mom said she wants
to be “Grammar Queen” for next Hal-
loween! Kids just freak me out, they’re
so cute. Then there are all these teenagers
whose parents drag them over to the ta-
ble: “Ask her a question!”
Are most of the people at Grammar
Table native English speakers?
I get a pretty healthy mix. There are a lot
of people who are non-native speakers of
cute [kju:t]
, niedlich, süß
drag [drÄg]
, schleppen
editor [(edIt&r]
, Redakteur(in),
Lektor(in)
focal point
[(foUk&l pOInt]
, Anlaufstelle
freak: ~ sb. out
[fri:k] ifml.
, jmdn. zum Ausflippen
bringen
idle about [)aId&l E(baUt]
, faulenzen
odd [A:d]
, seltsam
participate
[pA:r(tIsIpeIt]
, teilnehmen
pretty much anything
[)prIti mVtS (eniTIN]
, so ziemlich alles
relieved [ri(li:vd]
, erleichtert
Ellen says her Grammar Table is “a focal point for
people to come together and talk about language”
“I put the
sign up and
had my first
grammar
discussion
in 30
seconds”
