Having precise grammar ensures that the intended meaning is delivered

The argument

Grammar is precise and requires a detail-oriented mind. Thorough considerations of what a sentence can convey must be made in order to ensure that the accurate intended meaning is delivered. Such caution is needed in every language. For example, a well-known example is of a news headline in Hong Kong, which stated “兒子生性病母倍感安慰”. In Chinese, punctuation is often omitted in news headlines. However, with this one, the slightly different placements of the comma change the meaning of the sentence drastically. This headline could either mean “兒子生性, 病母倍感安慰” (Son acts maturely, sick mother is very relieved) or “兒子生性病, 母倍感安慰” (Son gets a sexually-transmitted disease, mother is very relieved). The son in the sentence could be interpreted to have matured or have caught an STD! This is just one example that demonstrates how small changes in grammar can have big impacts on the semantics of a sentence. Learning and using grammar properly will ensure that the intended meaning is delivered.

Premises

Counter-arguments

The example does not show what it is used to show. The headline is ambiguous because punctuation was omitted, and punctuation is orthographic convention rather than grammar; both readings are perfectly grammatical, which is precisely why the string admits of two interpretations. What resolves it is not grammatical precision but context — a reader who knows the story, or who reads the article beneath, will not hesitate. That is the general case: natural language is pervasively ambiguous at the level of the isolated sentence, and speakers disambiguate from context continuously, which is why communication survives ellipsis, messaging shorthand, unfamiliar accents and second-language speech. The chosen register also undercuts the general claim. A headline is a compressed form in which normal grammatical marking is deliberately stripped out, and if headlines nonetheless communicate adequately, that is evidence for the sibling position that grammar matters on some occasions only — namely where ambiguity carries costs, as in contracts, statutes, medical instructions and technical documentation. The formulation is finally too strong in both directions: precise grammar does not ensure that meaning is delivered, since well-formed sentences can be ambiguous, vague or misleading, and it is not required either, since ungrammatical utterances are understood every day. A rare and quotable instance of costly ambiguity is weak support for a general rule, because such cases are collected and repeated precisely for being unusual.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] The premise conflates grammar with orthography and with care in general: the headline is ambiguous because punctuation was omitted, both readings are grammatical, and what resolves it is context rather than grammatical precision. [Rejecting P2] Precise grammar neither ensures nor is necessary for meaning to be delivered — well-formed sentences can be ambiguous or misleading while ungrammatical ones are routinely understood — and a headline, a register that deliberately strips grammatical marking, supports at most the position that grammar matters on some occasions.