Seven short theories on why people tend to butcher the English Language By: Michael the Mentalist
Alright, This is a few of my theories on why people especially Americans butcher the English language.
#1 : Not enough diversity, think about it the Germans have 13 words for kiss, The Italians have 7 words for love. But we have one word for everything and have to make due Example: I Love that guy & I Love her in Italian would have two different words for love there but, we have one and are therefore often horribly misunderstood by even ourselves
#2 : Homophones. This is a large issue with our language, Example: To, Two, and Too. I'm going To be too cool with you two. See the issue there, well probably not, read it out loud though you'll start to agree.
#3 Not enough focus on language in our culture. Think about how many times you see on a child's toy an intentional misspelling of a reasonably common word, This was brought to my attention by the famed Light Brite I believe the name was However that is rather irrelevant. What I'm saying is that by creating these names language becomes less important Example: Gleam=Gleem, Quick=Quik, Bright=Brite, Extreme =Xtreme, Gummy=Gummi, Money=Munni, see my point yet.
#4 Most people don't read. In an age of video games and over 1000 channels of television, most people don't place an importance on reading. Example: I read at least two hours a day, this gives me an exposure to words that are commonly used in everyday life, and an occasional highland accent but I digress, where my brother who reads maybe two hours a week has immense trouble spelling the words that I use in conversation and considering his Intelligence Quotient is five points higher than mine he should in theory know this stuff but he doesn't.
#5 Perhaps the most important point in here is that there are not enough dictionaries sold in the United States think about it The Bible no disrespect intended to this fine book outsells the Dictionary by almost 3 to 1 and only 60 percent of this nation is Christian but Everyone I don't care if you worship the big green rock in your back yard should own a dictionary or two and preferably a thesaurus but that's not really a requirement.
#6 If you can't spell or pronounce a word don't use it. The English language might not have much diversity but it has enough that you don't have to use the same word for everything Example: If you can't spell say, Congestion say stuffed-up you will seem less stupid than if you misspell a word
#7 Final point, Grammer this is a simple one think about when you meet a person If they speak well you are more likely to consider them intelligent this is even more important than clothing, or how you walk, or, just about anything really Example: Look at the two options tell me which person is smarter, both quotes mean the same thing. "I don't gotta do that" or "I don't have to do that" "What you gonna do about it" or "What do you plan to do about it" "I talk good" or "I speak well"
Please post replies I enjoy agreement almost as much as a well planned argument
Michael The Mentalist Eridito Est Vox
4 Comments
Mary Jean, 243 - days ago
Hi Michael,
When I'm not trying to catch up on so much work from having been on leave, I'll write more. However, I will say that for me effective communication is more important than correct grammar. As a customer service provider, we have an expression that sums it up "Being right is not always right". If I make a customer uncomfortable by speaking grammatically and perhaps so that the person may not know the words I've used, I haven't done well even if literally correct. I change the way I speak to suit abilities of the listener--as a form of empathy. We should set good examples and not talk down to people though. There is a fine line between communicating effectively at someone's level and giving in to the "lowest common denominator". As in all things, balance is my goal--Letting others feel comfortable talking to me at their level and maintaining integrity of my intelligence.
For the record, I agree with you about dictionaries and "ad-ver language". We need way more of the former and way less of the latter. I have a very large, wonderfully old dictionary that lives on our coffee table. It has served as an arguement settler for many, many Scrabble games.
More on this later, Mary Jean
Michael, 243 - days ago
I take your point and it's likely my youthful idealism but I find poorly spoken English highly annoying, The one that really bothers me is the fact that most people can't seem to form a proper sentence in conversation the other things are just causes for a disease.
Eruditio Est Vox Michael Kane
niles, 242 - days ago
michael,
an observation: the most grammatical errors in your post were found in the point about grammar. irony? i think so. purposely? i wouldn't put it past ya.
seriously though, my opinion is that if a person can convey an idea that makes them an effective communicator. i could go on and on about how the fact that i used "them" instead of "him/her" is incorrect and all that (i was an english major, after all) but i think you probably understood my point. i do agree with many of your points, but i think i disagree with your sentiment.
as an example i'll use harlem rennaissance poetry. the poet/author james weldon johnson was one of the main proponents of african-american poets using proper speech and spelling in their works. this is made very clear in his early works. after having read the works of authors like langston hughes, jean toomer and others, however, he changed his view. johnson's collection of poems, "god's trombones," illustrates this change. he began using the vernacular instead of the proper; meaning, he wrote how it sounded rather than writing the correct form.
i'll agree with you that in writing people should take more care to spell correctly and put commas where they're supposed to be. but i think it's even more important, especially as a reader/listener, to be able to look past that and understand the intended meaning.
in conclusion, i'll say this: yoo am rite an convinsing argyumant.
Michael, 241 - days ago
Niles that is the first time in seven years I haven't had a comeback for a literary argument however considering I highly doubt you understand my sentiment I'll work on it
Hi Michael,
When I'm not trying to catch up on so much work from having been on leave, I'll write more. However, I will say that for me effective communication is more important than correct grammar. As a customer service provider, we have an expression that sums it up "Being right is not always right". If I make a customer uncomfortable by speaking grammatically and perhaps so that the person may not know the words I've used, I haven't done well even if literally correct. I change the way I speak to suit abilities of the listener--as a form of empathy. We should set good examples and not talk down to people though. There is a fine line between communicating effectively at someone's level and giving in to the "lowest common denominator". As in all things, balance is my goal--Letting others feel comfortable talking to me at their level and maintaining integrity of my intelligence.
For the record, I agree with you about dictionaries and "ad-ver language". We need way more of the former and way less of the latter. I have a very large, wonderfully old dictionary that lives on our coffee table. It has served as an arguement settler for many, many Scrabble games.
More on this later, Mary Jean
I take your point and it's likely my youthful idealism but I find poorly spoken English highly annoying, The one that really bothers me is the fact that most people can't seem to form a proper sentence in conversation the other things are just causes for a disease.
Eruditio Est Vox
Michael Kane
michael,
an observation: the most grammatical errors in your post were found in the point about grammar. irony? i think so. purposely? i wouldn't put it past ya.
seriously though, my opinion is that if a person can convey an idea that makes them an effective communicator. i could go on and on about how the fact that i used "them" instead of "him/her" is incorrect and all that (i was an english major, after all) but i think you probably understood my point. i do agree with many of your points, but i think i disagree with your sentiment.
as an example i'll use harlem rennaissance poetry. the poet/author james weldon johnson was one of the main proponents of african-american poets using proper speech and spelling in their works. this is made very clear in his early works. after having read the works of authors like langston hughes, jean toomer and others, however, he changed his view. johnson's collection of poems, "god's trombones," illustrates this change. he began using the vernacular instead of the proper; meaning, he wrote how it sounded rather than writing the correct form.
i'll agree with you that in writing people should take more care to spell correctly and put commas where they're supposed to be. but i think it's even more important, especially as a reader/listener, to be able to look past that and understand the intended meaning.
in conclusion, i'll say this: yoo am rite an convinsing argyumant.
Niles that is the first time in seven years I haven't had a comeback for a literary argument however considering I highly doubt you understand my sentiment I'll work on it