OT - English 101 - Bias versus biased

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Ando727

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Europe is full of different dialects. And English has been consistent for about 500 years. We can read Shakespeare with almost no trouble.
But those dialects have been stable for many centuries, the official language for newspapers and study purposes is a compromise that was developed so that those very dialects can still communicate with each other. I know this to be true because I speak German (high German) and French, but I also know 2 regional dialects of German and one of French. The dialects are very stable indeed. You are making an assumption that they all started from a common point and then adapted in different regions but actually all the regions were developing independently but also borrowing from each other during their very formation. The common language came later, not before. I would also say that reading old texts in German is easier than reading old texts in English. I would strongly dispute your contention that it is easy to read 500 year old English. Middle English and Early Modern English is very hard to read. Even Herman Melville (Moby Dick) gives a lot of people trouble - mostly because of vocabulary rather than grammar, but even some of the grammar is tricky. I think you are just assuming from hearsay that what you say is correct because nobody who has studied Middle and Early Modern English would say that it is easy to understand. I would even dispute your claim about Shakespeare; a lot of people who read Shakespeare see a word and assume that it carries the same meaning as a similar word in modern English.

Example: Wherefore art thou Romeo? Almost everybody I ever meet uses this wrongly. They think it means "where are you, Romeo?", when in fact, "wherefore" means "why", as in, Romeo, why did you have to be called Romeo? Meaning, why did my love have to be from the Montague family - the sworn enemy of the Capulet family. This happens all the time with Shakespeare period writing - similar looking words with different meanings, often known as "false-friends".

Recently, there has been a shift in German though because they have introduced a lot of "cool" words from English into their language. Which disturbs me a bit because they tend to use them incorrectly and it pollutes their language. The French are the opposite - they will do anything to avoid foreign words from polluting their language. Good for them, I say. I much prefer speaking German without English words in it - it makes me cringe to see how they use them.

Ok, lecture over now...;)
 

PumpyChowdown

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Thread starter #130
Example: Wherefore art thou Romeo? Almost everybody I ever meet uses this wrongly. They think it means "where are you, Romeo?", when is fact, "wherefore" means "why", as in, Romeo, why did you have to be called Romeo? Meaning, why did my love have to be from the Montague family - the sworn enemy of the Capulet family. This happens all the time with Shakespeare period writing - similar looking words with different meanings, often known as "false-friends".

Ok, lecture over now...;)
Today I learned something. :):thumbsu:
 

Shpeshal Ed

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for all intensive purposes, the grammer and spelling in this thread does the job.

Reading this thread can be addicting.
 

The_Ru

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The following is a quote from the 'At the bar' column by Mark Robinson and Daryl Timms in the Herald Sun

Back in their day, Diesel and Feathers, never left the ground. I couldn't imagine Diesel taking to kindly to taking a breather.
He never took kindly too much, Diesel. Just ask Rhys-Jones.

Terrible use of to/too/two by both of them.
What about the use of commas in this? I, for one, love the use of parenthetical commas. I, in all likelihood, use them too often. However, given that these muppets are literally professionals, this is beyond the pale.

Its the of versing 've travisty what really gets me hotted up thou.
 

Dawson

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the other one that shits me, but I've given up on, is the incorrect use of "begging the question".

In actuality, it's a philosophical term that refers to circular logic; it's a proposition which requires proof that is assumed without proof.

Most people use it instead of "raising the question". However, as I've said, I've given up on that one, because language is fluid and ever-changing, & it appears the word has now morphed into the incorrect usage.

Ah well, c'est la vie
It beggars belief

and

why do ppl use sms spk
i h8 it
 

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Admin #142
English has been consistent for about 500 years.
That is really quite untrue. English as a language has evolved considerably over that time and is evolving faster than ever now. Certainly that rate of change was slow for a while, largely because of the high cost of publishing. Anything that was written tended to be edited and proof-read before the larger population could access it. The Internet and boards like BigFooty have changed the dynamics and English is now evolving to remove flourishes that don't really add anything to meaning.

There has never been a governing body of English and its true to say that it is more a collection of patois and dialects than a rigidly defined language. There are a number of largely spoken variations, such as the jamaican patois spoken in England to the written only variation that is L33t. Not to mention the interest-group variations such as polari, this also being an example of how languages can form and die.
 

Sloth

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I hate the way the TV stations think it's cool to leave out the word 'verses' when they advertise a game...they just announce "Collingwood Fremantle 7:30 Friday" Yes...what about them? Will they be playing a match or something?
 
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