OUR LANGUAGE IS UNDERGOING A METAMORPHOSIS THAT IS NOT, IN MY OPINION, A POSITIVE CHANGE. Language has always changed - from the king's English version of, "Wither thou goest, Morris?" might now be phrased, "Yo Mo where you headed?" While not terrible, it certainly is a comedown from when the written language flourished and flowered as the main means of communication.
Technology has changed that. Instant messaging, the present coin of the realm, has a sub-culture that advocates speed over accuracy. In fact clever abbreviations and understandable circumventing of grammar rules are most appreciated and emulated. "Skool a bore id rath be @ home w/da box can u mt w/me @ lnch" Also spellcheck has turned us all into astute grammarians with the push of a button. Many do not feel that they have to study the rules of captialization, punctuation, and grammar - why bother?
In a more civilized mode but no less frustrating is the use of nominative and objective case pronouns. "My brother and me went to the mall yesterday afternoon." "That was such a thrill for my boyfriend and I."
Bill Cosby has risen to the fore lately emphasizing the need for correct English rather than the street corner lingo favored by city-dwelling blacks and wanna-be's.
The large wave of immigration may also have contributed to the quick change with the combination of native languages and English with noted shortcuts of the loss of conjunction use and the use of subject and verb agreement.
While change in language is inevitable, even good, the assault under which it is now struggling is way too much and way too fast.
Whadda ya tink?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment