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There is probably a term for what I am asking, but I don't know what it is. If you know the word, please tell me!
I am going to ask this question in a convoluted way, because I'm afraid that being more explicit will be politically incorrect, no matter how I word it. For want of a better term, I am going to refer to it as "Clampett-izing." What it is, is a simplification of the pronunciation of words. The best-known example would be "aren't/ain't." Another is dropping the "g" at the end of "ing."
Yes, I am guilty of using some of these. I sometimes use "ain't" for emphasis as a joke, and I tend to cut off the final g when I am hurrying to say something. I say "gonna" all the time, although I know I shouldn't.
And I've used "critter" when I talk about the little animals my cat likes to watch. Not to mention that "Butcher Holler" sounds way more intriguing than "Butcher Hollow"!
Those are generally regionalisms, idioms, and dialect. All are perfectly acceptable within the vulgate, even if they aren't the king's English.
Your fear is based in the idea that there is a "proper" English. That concept arose out of the classism of Victorian and Edwardian times, which allowed the gentry to look down on commoners for their use of language. In reality, the language is constantly evolving. Further, if you study the dialects and regionalisms in the U.K., they vary more than within the U.S.. Mancunian, Scouse, Geordie (to name just a few) veer much more from Oxford English than Appalachian dialects from Bostonian or "standard" English.
Those are generally regionalisms, idioms, and dialect. All are perfectly acceptable within the vulgate, even if they aren't the king's English.
Your fear is based in the idea that there is a "proper" English. That concept arose out of the classism of Victorian and Edwardian times, which allowed the gentry to look down on commoners for their use of language. In reality, the language is constantly evolving. Further, if you study the dialects and regionalisms in the U.K., they vary more than within the U.S.. Mancunian, Scouse, Geordie (to name just a few) veer much more from Oxford English than Appalachian dialects from Bostonian or "standard" English.
Yup.
The purpose of spoken language is to be understood. From an anthropological perspective, grammar ought to be descriptive and not prescriptive (the way things are vs. the way things ought to be).
Not to say there aren't rules to grammar. There are. But the rules are defined by those speaking the language, not elitist grammarians. My English teachers used to love telling us, " ' Ain't' ain't a word!" Which is nonsense. Teacher, did you just say, "ain't?" Yes. Did everyone understand exactly what you meant? Yes. Then it's a word.
Harry Chickpea is spot-on correct. "Proper" English is more about classism than reality.
An Englishman told me Received Pronunciation (RP) was developed as Norman French, itself a regional dialect of French, slowly morphed into English. Members of the court tried to retain as much of the French pronunciation as possible. Et voila the King's English was born.
A teacher in English class pointed out us that English is a German language with an overlay of French, which is a combination of Gaelic and Latin.
The simplified words noted in the OP are used in the UK as well and is where they originated, based on rural and regional accents.
The Anglo Saxon tongue had trouble with French. As the languages merged pronunciation was approximated as heard. Also people couldn't read, they didn't know how words were spelled and spelling wasn't standardized anyway. It's how Mary-le-Bourne became Marlybone.
Then, much later, there was the transition to English for Irish, Scottish and Welsh speakers. Each lending their own quirks of pronunciation. Thankfully there has been a resurgence of speaking and teaching these ancient languages so they're not lost. I love seeing signs in Welsh and English in Wales and listening to local Welsh radio on BBC.
Brits cherish their regional accents even while making fun of them. Grads of RADA have to be able to pick them up for character roles. Michael Caine, himself a good East End lad, said he was so nervous about speaking RP for his role as an aristocrat officer in Zulu his voice came out so high and squeeky he had to do several takes before he could deliver the lines in normal voice.
OK, so let's take it further. Daniel Webster made a dictionary for people on the continent of North America that was intentionally different than the Oxford dictionary. I leave it to you to research why.
Words for meat animals--pig, cow, hen, stag--are derived from the Anglo Saxon peasants, who dealt with living critters.
Words for meat--pork, beef, poultry, venison--are from Norman French, the nobs who were served the flesh of the animals.
Thank you for all your explanations. I never knew most of your information before. Is there a technical term for the differences?
I thought of two more:
pumpkin/punkin
hundred/hunnert. This one's origins I know. It's based upon the German word for 100, which is hundert. My great-grandparents were Germans who moved to America, and I think that even my grandparents, who were born in the US, said "hunnert."
The purpose of spoken language is to be understood. From an anthropological perspective, grammar ought to be descriptive and not prescriptive (the way things are vs. the way things ought to be).
Not to say there aren't rules to grammar. There are. But the rules are defined by those speaking the language, not elitist grammarians. My English teachers used to love telling us, " ' Ain't' ain't a word!" Which is nonsense. Teacher, did you just say, "ain't?" Yes. Did everyone understand exactly what you meant? Yes. Then it's a word.
Harry Chickpea is spot-on correct. "Proper" English is more about classism than reality.
Yup. There's no one "right" way to speak a language other than what those in power at a given time decided was proper.
I once read that "strenuous" was at one time considered slang.
I recently enjoyed watching the 1970s BBC series, All Creatures Great and Small, based on the books by James Herriot. One of the most enjoyable aspects of the series was the authentic Yorkshire dialect, which I understand is beginning to die out.
I've begun using it myself, saying things like "I've nowt to make for dinner, but I'll put sommat together".
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thank you
