Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
If you don't know how to read English, then its your fault, don't come here complaining about the English language and how it has progressed over the years, things change and you just have to accept it, your thread is quite incoherent and has nothing to do with what is going on around the world, it is not even a big issue, we have many other troubled things going on in this world that we need to worry about instead of worrying about how different a language is when it really isn't. The English language is only different to you, maybe you don't even speak the language and your a minority yourself who cannot speak the language.
Not necessarily. Some people are just selective about when and where they want to use proper English. It's actually pretty surprising the amount of highly educated people who can write very well but will instead default to improper English, especially when in a rush or in informal situations. I see this at work all the time, and I work in higher education. Someone might be able to write a well-constructed, professional email, then proceed to send me a message or IM using "u", fail to capitalize nouns, and all other sorts of errors. Some people write like that because it is simply more efficient, not because they are incapable of writing well. I know many who feel the need to write properly in all situations, which is ok.Generally, I think people who are well educated and have less to prove will likely care much less in informal situations.
It just goes to show you that no matter what you say and no matter how you say it, someone somewhere thinks all you're doing is showing your ignorance.
When it comes to being with your friends, then for sure I would like td be informal and use slang words and speak sluggish English why not? im too lazy to speak like a professional English speaker with good grammar and language analytical skills.
Yes, I'm definitely concerned about our deteriorating English language. I read words in a very literal way because words mean things. When the incorrect word is used, communication is impaired. The purpose of language is to communicate.
I have concerns about a young person I know who has the desire to become a pharmacist. This person is a very bad speller, mostly due to carelessness. Will this person simply shrug and say, "Well, close enough," when filling a prescription? A lot of pharmaceuticals have similar sounding names.
What about an airline pilot who can't spell correctly? Australia and Austria sound similar. It'll be a fun surprise to see where we end up. Okay, I'm kind of joking, but it's not really out of the realm of possibility!
Butchering of language is of course by no means unique to modernity. But until recent times, there was stark distinction between usage by the upper classes, the middle classes and the lower. Those at the bottom, who were illiterate or semi-literate, had to contend with stunted vocabulary and lack of familiarity with basic rules of grammar or spelling. They didn't have the benefit of formal education, and hobnobbed with fellow illiterates in menial vocations and slums. The middle classes had the benefits of secondary schooling, and presumably in keeping with middle-class values, aimed to speak and write in accordance with perceived decorum, taking minimal risk and keeping up appearances. The upper classes received a classical education, to include several European languages, as well as Latin and Greek. Their education emphasized not so much "practical" knowledge, as eloquent and florid self-expression. Though perhaps haughty and condescending, these classes with some justification were the guardians of language.
Today we see an amalgamation of class-structure; or more accurately, we all speak like Proles. Refinement and eloquence are conflated with pompousness. Education is more about vocational specialization, than about refinement and eloquence. Those who traditionally lead and sustain our culture have largely abdicated this role, and consequently we are all the poorer.
Did you just make that up? Because it is nonsense on many levels. You certainly didn't learn that in a graduate linguistics class.
Those errors are not occurring because knowledge of English deminishing or the language deteriorating.
You are seeing more errors because the publications havery dramaticly cut down on staffing....including almost all copy editors and proof readers.
I read a front page AP newspaper article last weekend talking about John Boehner's resignation. It said that he would "get stuff passed".... stuff? Really? Just "stuff".
As an English major and self proclaimed grammar snob, it bothers me only a little now. If you llisten to how people spoke 200 years ago, you'd see we've all deteriorated. I've learned over time that many people with poor language skills still have intelligent things to say.
Just ask highschoolers how many books they have read in the last year.
My oldest two are in high school. Between the two of them, I'd say at least fifty books. Kids are still assigned them contrary to what you believe and they do far more summer work for school than you did.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.