On grammer:
since somebody mentioned this I thought I'd explain what I mean by saying grammer is one of my vices.
1. THere is no incorrect english.
2. spoken language is the law; spoken language is living language.
3. If you succeed in communicating your message, you are correct.
I find the structures of grammer fascinating. comparative and all. people who are only interested in critical grammer, the 19th century grammarian grammer arelike butterfly collectors:
they are only interested in pretty dead things,and a strange, suffocated sense of power over the world.
language is the work of collective genius, an art/artifact of centuries of groups of people. It's a flow.
Artists are people who define symbols. famous artists define symbols for whole cultures, and beyond.
If you use language creatively you are a poet or awriter, etc.
if you make up neologisms, or your own language, you are sort of an Ur-artist.
when I list grammer as a vice, I don't mean that I like to sit around judging the way people speak or write. (with the caveat that written language in specific venues, such as the new york times, really aught to stick to the rules, and if they fuck up,I'll gleefully point it out.)
there are comparatively few people who have actual problems with their native language, and I certainly don't judge any of them. more power to them. They should be respected for the challenges they face.
How we speak generally reflects where we or our family are from, and I don't believe in disrespecting where people are from
there is also the issue of the status of a particular accent of way of speaking. Most speakers english (especially the british) make class distinctions based on accent. Fuck that idea and the monkey fucking cow it rode in on.
I think it's also sad that speakers of english as a second language are made to feel ashamed of what's the linguistic skill equivelent of needing to learn the flying trapese in your thirties after a life of sedantary debauchery and dissapation. awe and congradulations are in order, not hostility. [xenophobia sucks]
on the rules of grammer: you know what sounds right. you know what works.
some rules are silly. such as:
don't split an infinitive. Why did they have to fucking be so wanna-be?
English is not latin. Latin is not the platonic ideal of language. It's not better than any other language. just because in latin it'simpossible to do, doesn't mean it's wrong in english. but that'sthe logic that derrived that rule.
and on the judgeing people thing, I live in a glass house where this is concerned-- you should hear the spanish/portuguese grammer in an english word sentance crapthat I come up with sometimes. or the just jumbled, rollled around tossled, misused sentances I blurt. I certainly can't spell for shit,that's sure, and damn if I haven't forgotten more words that I'd like to admit.
and just because you know the rules doesn't mean you have to follow them.
so, in conclusion, nice hats.
since somebody mentioned this I thought I'd explain what I mean by saying grammer is one of my vices.
1. THere is no incorrect english.
2. spoken language is the law; spoken language is living language.
3. If you succeed in communicating your message, you are correct.
I find the structures of grammer fascinating. comparative and all. people who are only interested in critical grammer, the 19th century grammarian grammer arelike butterfly collectors:
they are only interested in pretty dead things,and a strange, suffocated sense of power over the world.
language is the work of collective genius, an art/artifact of centuries of groups of people. It's a flow.
Artists are people who define symbols. famous artists define symbols for whole cultures, and beyond.
If you use language creatively you are a poet or awriter, etc.
if you make up neologisms, or your own language, you are sort of an Ur-artist.
when I list grammer as a vice, I don't mean that I like to sit around judging the way people speak or write. (with the caveat that written language in specific venues, such as the new york times, really aught to stick to the rules, and if they fuck up,I'll gleefully point it out.)
there are comparatively few people who have actual problems with their native language, and I certainly don't judge any of them. more power to them. They should be respected for the challenges they face.
How we speak generally reflects where we or our family are from, and I don't believe in disrespecting where people are from
there is also the issue of the status of a particular accent of way of speaking. Most speakers english (especially the british) make class distinctions based on accent. Fuck that idea and the monkey fucking cow it rode in on.
I think it's also sad that speakers of english as a second language are made to feel ashamed of what's the linguistic skill equivelent of needing to learn the flying trapese in your thirties after a life of sedantary debauchery and dissapation. awe and congradulations are in order, not hostility. [xenophobia sucks]
on the rules of grammer: you know what sounds right. you know what works.
some rules are silly. such as:
don't split an infinitive. Why did they have to fucking be so wanna-be?
English is not latin. Latin is not the platonic ideal of language. It's not better than any other language. just because in latin it'simpossible to do, doesn't mean it's wrong in english. but that'sthe logic that derrived that rule.
and on the judgeing people thing, I live in a glass house where this is concerned-- you should hear the spanish/portuguese grammer in an english word sentance crapthat I come up with sometimes. or the just jumbled, rollled around tossled, misused sentances I blurt. I certainly can't spell for shit,that's sure, and damn if I haven't forgotten more words that I'd like to admit.
and just because you know the rules doesn't mean you have to follow them.
so, in conclusion, nice hats.
VIEW 6 of 6 COMMENTS
I actually fall to the trap of judgement based on spoken language. I know it's false and I know that I shouldn't judge people based on that, but sometimes I really really hate it when the wrong word gets used because of a lesson not learned. Of course, right now I'm blanking on an example, but I'll think of one in a minute. Oh! my geekdom comes through again:
"Pick up that dice" says the player at one game table.
The reference is wrong, as "dice" is the plural form of die, and by saying "that" the plurality is betrayed. When I hear that sort of thing, I get ticked off. Oh, also when people say this:
"Alls I have to do"
That kills me. "Alls"? AAAaaahhhh!!
For some reason that sort of thing really gets to me. I know a lot of people that say it too, but EVERY time I notice it and it bugs me. I really wish it didn't bug me, but it does. To the degree that sometimes I even correct people.
Gender confusion gets to me as well.
Ah well. Cheers, friend.
I also believe there are different rules for email and chat as they are conversational and one does not have body language and eye contact.
Anyway...