quote:
And I was all like 'Oh yeah?' and Bloodsage was all like:
That's actually not true except in a technical, who-gives-a-shit ivory tower sort of way.But I'll only engage in public deathmatches.
I'm forced to half-agree with you. However, I'm afraid you've got it a little mixed up - it's only not true in a technical, prestige-matters sort of way.
I'm at a slight loss of where to begin this argument, however - lacking a crate of degrees (alas, for my insignificant lasting in history has not yet allowed me to garner such a possession!) leaves me fighting an uphill battle. However, since I'm within my own realm of expertise, I don't feel too over my head.
Language today is an odd beast from where it originally started. For all except the most recent 5,500 years has language been devoid of anything that could hint at a proper way or fashion to work in. Even then, it took until only 400 years ago, at the earliest, for grammarians to start feeling important enough to proclaim that there was a proper and imperative way to write things down. Prior to that, writing was mostly a novelty, but often just a transcription of what was said. I'm getting ahead of myself, though. Before the 1600s, written language began to find itself parting ways from the oral language it so came from. Dante wrote his Inferno in Latin, despite his tongue professing fidelity to Italian. He did so without any conscious idea that he was writing in a different language - he was merely writing it down, as opposed to speaking it aloud.
Suddenly, or rather over a great period of time, there was an amazing transformation in the English language. Over night, but not really, English speaking children began to learn to read and write just the same as they learned to listen and speak. With this came an odd bit of linguistic waffling - whereas writing began as an imitation of speech, now the mindset has changed to believe that speech is merely a sloppy way of writing. Written language has become the paragon of language - in the case of English, I must specify - and has become regarded as the correct way of doing things.
So how did it get that way? It doesn't exactly follow that the earlier a person begins to write the more likely they are to be ruled by ancient grammars and rules. However, the strict grammar school discipline of the aristocratic youth championed the more of linguistic degredation. This idea is epitomized by every pursed-lip English teacher proclaiming that not only is the use of words such as "ain't", constructs like double negatives, and a wavering sense of grammar in speech an obvious sign that language (and oft the world in general) is going to Hell without even forethought enough to employ a handbasket. Thus they held tight to the written language, knowing that something printed would be able to weather the harsh linguistic storms, and raised it up high - as a reminder of what the unwashed masses attempt to routinely reproduce every day.
There is such a thing as "bad English" - however that is the territory of young children, foreigners picking up the language, and the linguistically deficient. Further ceding, what's often refered to as "bad English" is simply vulgar - English that's a bit too dressed down for the current setting. In the realms of academics, business, politics, and public speaking there is a need to follow the status quo, and thusly a need to use Standard Written English. Even if it is an imaginary fossil.
Now that I've delayed quite a bit, I need to do my homework. So tell me if you want any sources for numbers or facts I've given, and I'll get to that as soon as I can.
Psst. If you can offer any grammar, style, or diction advice let me know. It may not exist (sorta), but I enjoy playing pretend.
quote:
Cleo impressed everyone with:
Either way you spell it, it's a weird saying. Like "beats me," i.e.
"Do you think he'll like this?"
"Beats me."
English is full of weird little sayings, like all languages. Learning Japanese and their weird little sayings (Like gomen nasai, "forgive me" being more common than "I'm sorry") made me realize how many weird sayings we have ourselves. Isn't the process of literary evolution fun?!
They're called idioms, and every language has them.
--Satan, quoted by John Milton
