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Jackronner Posted 15 years ago
Linguistics Studies
Language drift
I know english is a very protean language, continually accepting usages and definitions which were patently "substandard" in previous times. I'd be interested to know if there is anybody else who feels that this process has accelerated drastically in recent years?
I must attribute this acceleration to TV, and even more particularly to local news stations. There persists in the public mind the notion that if you hear it on TV it must be right. Right? At one time, it used to be that good grammar, vocabulary and usage were a prerequisite of broadcast programs and newsreaders. Now it is only a perquisite. Further, it seems that when one of them makes a mistake, the others perk up their ears and think: "That's new! I think I'll use it, too." Soon, everybody is saying the new "thing," and, perversely, saying the wrong thing much more often than the "right" thing was ever heard. Examples: "step foot" instead of "set food;" "heart-wrenching" instead of "rending;" "hone in on" instead of "home;" "tenent vs. tenet;" "degenerate gambler" instead of "unregenerate or inveterate" and the list goes on.
I've even noted that even in the literary world, where once books would be filtered through layers of editors to the point where unintentional barbarisms and solecisms were weeded out, glaring errors are made and repeated throughout: e.g., "preemptory challenge" (no such word) in lieu of "peremptory."
Should we insist that prospective broadcasters pass a minimal competency test? After all, this isn't the presidency we're talking about!
I must attribute this acceleration to TV, and even more particularly to local news stations. There persists in the public mind the notion that if you hear it on TV it must be right. Right? At one time, it used to be that good grammar, vocabulary and usage were a prerequisite of broadcast programs and newsreaders. Now it is only a perquisite. Further, it seems that when one of them makes a mistake, the others perk up their ears and think: "That's new! I think I'll use it, too." Soon, everybody is saying the new "thing," and, perversely, saying the wrong thing much more often than the "right" thing was ever heard. Examples: "step foot" instead of "set food;" "heart-wrenching" instead of "rending;" "hone in on" instead of "home;" "tenent vs. tenet;" "degenerate gambler" instead of "unregenerate or inveterate" and the list goes on.
I've even noted that even in the literary world, where once books would be filtered through layers of editors to the point where unintentional barbarisms and solecisms were weeded out, glaring errors are made and repeated throughout: e.g., "preemptory challenge" (no such word) in lieu of "peremptory."
Should we insist that prospective broadcasters pass a minimal competency test? After all, this isn't the presidency we're talking about!
Top answer
I think a native English-speaking kid on a forum once told me, "English is evolving. " Well, I was really put off by his American arrogance and discrimination once I revealed that I'm an Asian and a native English speaker. In his mind, I was probably speaking inferior English.
- I think a native English-speaking kid on a forum once told me, "English is evolving.
- " Well, I was really put off by his American arrogance and discrimination once I revealed that I'm an Asian and a native English speaker.
- In his mind, I was probably speaking inferior English.
- However, I do have to agree with him/her, that English is evolving.
- It is just doing that at an accelerated rate in the last 50 years.
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3 Answers
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I think a native English-speaking kid on a forum once told me, "English is evolving. There is no right or wrong."
Well, I was really put off by his American arrogance and discrimination once I revealed that I'm an Asian and a native English speaker. In his mind, I was probably speaking inferior English.
However, I do have to agree with him/her, that English is evolving. It is ju
Well, I was really put off by his American arrogance and discrimination once I revealed that I'm an Asian and a native English speaker. In his mind, I was probably speaking inferior English.
However, I do have to agree with him/her, that English is evolving. It is ju
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I think the worst changes and mistakes are centuries old. Isn't it extremely odd that during the invasion by the Vikings, a Scandinavian personal pronoun replaced the third person plural hie and the Scandinavian they crept into the language? Besides, in those days who was unknown and absolutely incorrect if used as a relative pronoun! No one had heard or seen do used
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jackronnerExamples: "step foot" instead of "set food;" "heart-wrenching" instead of "rending;" "hone in on" instead of "home;" "tenent vs. tenet;" "degenerate gambler" instead of "unregenerate or inveterate" and the list goes on.
Often these missayings relate to unusual components, e.g. "-rending"; a word which few people now understand is replaced by som
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