Quote:
Originally Posted by Nyororin
There is no such thing as mutilation of language. Other than those that are disappearing (and not even then in many cases), there is no suffering going on.
Ask yourself - at what point was English "pure" and not filled with what you consider "deterioration"? At what stage can we say it is "perfect" and as it should forever remain?
Language evolves. A language that ceases to evolve is one that is falling out of use, and one that cannot evolve is pretty much doomed. Every year countless expressions come into and fall out of use, countless words are coined or have their meanings change, grammar norms change a bit more gradually but still at a constant pace. Trying to stop this is pointless and a bit silly, really.
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Case in point. You have proceeded to strand together a combination of words with specific meanings, which you assumed that I understand, to intelligently communicate certain ideas to me. You also utilized punctuation, capitalization, spelling, etc.
You saw what happened when I failed to clearly describe my thoughts, a few posts back. You got concerned, I got confused; utter chaos followed.
...It could have, anyway.
I do not agree with George Orwell's political ideals, and I did't take the time to read this entire article, but I do agree with the following:
Most people who bother with the matter at all would admit that the English language is in a bad way, but it is generally assumed that we cannot by conscious action do anything about it. Our civilization is decadent and our language -- so the argument runs -- must inevitably share in the general collapse. It follows that any struggle against the abuse of language is a sentimental archaism, like preferring candles to electric light or hansom cabs to aeroplanes. Underneath this lies the half-conscious belief that language is a natural growth and not an instrument which we shape for our own purposes.
Now, it is clear that the decline of a language must ultimately have political and economic causes: it is not due simply to the bad influence of this or that individual writer. But an effect can become a cause, reinforcing the original cause and producing the same effect in an intensified form, and so on indefinitely. A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks. It is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language. It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts. The point is that the process is reversible. Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble. If one gets rid of these habits one can think more clearly, and to think clearly is a necessary first step toward political regeneration: so that the fight against bad English is not frivolous and is not the exclusive concern of professional writers...
I personally don't intend to become militant over the subject (in general-not specifically on this forum) for I think that my time could be used in better ways, but I will encourage the proper usage of the English language and continue in my attempt to properly utilize words, grammar, spelling, etc.