Rant: English - Are standards declining?

[Jsprat100]

Before you start your hissy fit, yes the title is an obvious joke. No matter where you go or what you do in England, there is some person who thinks butchering our language into infinity with his 'americanisms' and 'slang' is the best thing ever.

I often play dota (Oh yes, lets say that and wait for the hate messages) and I see things like 'This game isn't funny anymore' - It's not meant to be funny! Its meant to be FUN. Buy yourself a dictionary or stop speaking english. It's got to the stage where I say stuff like "I am going to be terribly english - but it is magnataur and I, not me and magnataur" to get replied with "I am going to be terribly irish - F*** Off!"

Its not just in computer gaming - Would you like to buy some candy? Mom, can I buy some candy? Candy, Candy, and more ruddy Candy! Its sweets! S-W-E-E-T-S! Candy comes in at number 2 - the main culprit isn't polka-dot or aluminum - Its the horror of horrors - KID!

For those who don't own a dictionary - Kid means baby goat. When a goat has a child, it is reffered to as a kid. Like the horse has a foal and a chicken has a chick, a goat has a kid. A human child - CHILD - isn't a kid. Its a goat. Kid is now used to reffer to people from 1 year olds to 15 year olds and not only is it patronising and overused, it has robbed the world child from the English dictionary.

It seems to me that these replacements have been made up for fun. Soccer. Soccer! Its football! The british invented the sport! But you use a football don't you? For rugby. Thats pretty much what it is, just with a few new rules and wierd, freaky outfits. A little known fact (learnt from QI, a british panel show. Don't get me started on american comedy...yet) is that the british invented baseball, previously called base ball.

Here is a history lesson for you - the british, as well as other european people, sailed over looking for a quick route to India. Instead they found america and filled it up with people. From that time till now, someone lost the english dictionary and re typed it from memory.

You may say, Jsprat100, you've focused on your cousins from across the pond - no self respecting grammar bully would miss out slang! Well, I'm not going to! Here I go, deep breaths, we are only half way through!

Yo man, you got some skills, innit?
Or in other words, Goodness, you are talented, aren't you?

What on earth is slang anyway? As a fairly young person myself, I am almost expected to speak like it...umm...innit? I have trouble understanding the general slang terms of britain today, so I am therefore called a 'SWAT' or 'Posh git' - Whatever they mean.

There is a boy in my class, a geordie (or someone from Newcastle, England for those who don't know) who, instead of saying the typical northern statement of "You ballsed that up" says "Wat ya doin ya lil' dafty?"

---To be finished off later, feel free to reply---
(I admit it, I am a grammar bully who likes long posts)

 

[Maker]

Well..um..what can I say?

Im amazed that some people don't know when to use

their
they're
there

correctly. How difficult can it be?

 

[Deleted member 157129]

Before you start your hissy fit, yes the title is an obvious joke. No matter where you go or what you do in England, there is some person who thinks butchering our language into infinity with his 'americanisms' and 'slang' is the best thing ever.

I often play dota (Oh yes, lets say that and wait for the hate messages) and I see things like 'This game isn't funny anymore' - It's not meant to be funny! Its meant to be FUN. Buy yourself a dictionary or stop speaking english. It's got to the stage where I say stuff like "I am going to be terribly english - but it is magnataur and I, not me and magnataur" to get replied with "I am going to be terribly irish - F*** Off!"

Its not just in computer gaming - Would you like to buy some candy? Mom, can I buy some candy? Candy, Candy, and more ruddy Candy! Its sweets! S-W-E-E-T-S! Candy comes in at number 2 - the main culprit isn't polka-dot or aluminum - Its the horror of horrors - KID!

For those who don't own a dictionary - Kid means baby goat. When a goat has a child, it is reffered to as a kid. Like the horse has a foal and a chicken has a chick, a goat has a kid. A human child - CHILD - isn't a kid. Its a goat. Kid is now used to reffer to people from 1 year olds to 15 year olds and not only is it patronising and overused, it has robbed the world child from the English dictionary.

It seems to me that these replacements have been made up for fun. Soccer. Soccer! Its football! The british invented the sport! But you use a football don't you? For rugby. Thats pretty much what it is, just with a few new rules and wierd, freaky outfits. A little known fact (learnt from QI, a british panel show. Don't get me started on american comedy...yet) is that the british invented baseball, previously called base ball.

Here is a history lesson for you - the british, as well as other european people, sailed over looking for a quick route to China*. Instead they found america and filled it up with people. From that time till now, someone lost the english dictionary and re typed it from memory.

You may say, Jsprat100, you've focused on your cousins from across the pond - no self respecting grammar bully would miss out slang! Well, I'm not going to! Here I go, deep breaths, we are only half way through!

Yo man, you got some skills, innit?
Or in other words, Goodness, you are talented, aren't you?

What on earth is slang anyway? As a fairly young person myself, I am almost expected to speak like it...umm...innit? I have trouble understanding the general slang terms of britain today, so I am therefore called a 'SWAT' or 'Posh git' - Whatever they mean.

There is a boy in my class, a geordie (or someone from Newcastle, England for those who don't know) who, instead of saying the typical northern statement of "You ballsed that up" says "Wat ya doin ya lil' dafty?"

---To be finished off later, feel free to reply---
(I admit it, I am a grammar bully who likes long posts)

Quick note; if you're going to complain about the grammar of others, it's a good idea to actually spell things correctly yourself. I've marked the more serious (ie those that alter the meaning or essence) mistakes with red, and a few general rules that aren't as important with orange.

However, I completely agree, even though I am by no means English, or British for that matter, nor American. Therefore I won't comment on the slang either - I utilize slang in my own native language, so I don't consider it wrong.

A side note:
* (the blue mark) - last time (10 years ago) I checked, Columbus discovered America on an adventure to find a route to India (which is why Native Americans are named Indians), not China. Also, the Vikings were probably the first explorers from Europe to discover America.


@Maker, those cases are often misspellings, afaik, and not intentional (as in they don't know the difference).

 

[Elenai]

I'd like to point out that Language is something that is meant to shift, evolve, change, be dialected (ZOMG! I added a word to the dictionary because I Nounicized (ZOMG DID IT AGAIN! I verbicized! [omg..did it again] a noun) a verb), often times 'purified' of baggage, like Thee, Thou, Thy, Thine, Beor...etc, and be bent to your whim, will, and etc.

I bend English to my whim all the time, she is my whimsical fairy slave.

 

[TDR]

Lol your precious english is deteriorating?...Romanian is slowly and incredibly painfully morphing into english, because everyone thinks it's cool to use english words. I can feel my ears bleed every time I hear people butcher this language, and trust me it happens ALL the time.

 

[Kuhneghetz]

Correction, the chick's mother is named hen.

But yeah, I'm aware about the constant raping on the English language.

 

[Saken]

I heard today, "Whatchu say?" I took an imaginary pistol to my temple.

 

[ike_ike]

[...] dota [...]

DotA.

 

[MySpaceBarBroke]

What a load of shit. Language is a tool, and I don't intend to glorify tools. If you understand what another person is saying, there's nothing else to it. You adopt the dialect most suitable for your needs.

If I insult someone for their obvious grammatical deficiencies, it's because it's so horrible it inhibits communication, it's reflective of their intelligence, it's clearly a product of carelessness, or I just feel like being an asshole (Oh, shit, my list isn't in parallel structure. Go cry.)

Also, fuck off. Candy is candy, and it will continue to be candy whether you bitch about American English being a desecration of your sacred English language or not. People as a society aren't going to suddenly stop informally making up terms simply because you feel that English is at the peak of its brilliance in archaic, outdated forms.

 

[raid1000]

What a load of shit. Language is a tool, and I don't intend to glorify tools. If you understand what another person is saying, there's nothing else to it. You adopt the dialect most suitable for your needs.

If I insult someone for their obvious grammatical deficiencies, it's because it's so horrible it inhibits communication, it's reflective of their intelligence, it's clearly a product of carelessness, or I just feel like being an asshole (Oh, shit, my list isn't in parallel structure. Go cry.)

Also, fuck off. Candy is candy, and it will continue to be candy whether you bitch about American English being a desecration of your sacred English language or not. People as a society aren't going to suddenly stop informally making up terms simply because you feel that English is at the peak of its brilliance in archaic, outdated forms.

seconded

 

[Coolty44]

You don't use an american football in Rugby.

EDIT: Forgot to mention thats about all I really cared about reading your rant. You can change how people speak, and you never will. Fuck, I saw a court case were a mother was suing her child for some money she owned her 15 years ago, and never collected until then becuase the mom "Didn't speak proper english around her grandchildren".

 

[Deleted member 157129]

You don't use an american football in Rugby.

EDIT: Forgot to mention thats about all I really cared about reading your rant. You can change how people speak, and you never will. Fuck, I saw a court case were a mother was suing her child for some money she owned her 15 years ago, and never collected until then becuase the mom "Didn't speak proper english around her grandchildren".

Uuuh, what exactly were you trying to say in that last bit? It would be so much easier if you at least tried to spell right.

 

[Dreadnought[dA]]

As long as language remains functional, easy to understand, and easy to use, who really cares? The only real problem with a shifting language, is that older books and poems become more difficult to comprehend (thy thou art whomsoever).

Aint Eye iz thuh smartezt thang evar?

 

[Saken]

Older poems and books are easy to understand for me, but the absolute raping of the English language where instead of progressing, it is declinding and becoming worse then it already was.

 

[Jsprat100]

Chauser, Shakespeare and Orwell are being pushed backwards out of the fray. These people crafted English and now someone is saying "Yeah, thats all well and good, but they aren't here anymore so lets vomit on the language"

 

[TheDivineBoss]

Your turn.

 

[MySpaceBarBroke]

Chauser, Shakespeare and Orwell are being pushed backwards out of the fray. These people crafted English and now someone is saying "Yeah, thats all well and good, but they aren't here anymore so lets vomit on the language"

It's funny you should mention that.

Are you saying Chauser, Shakespeare and Orwell used the exact same dialect of the English language? Or that, it was their ability to retain to archaic English that made them successful writers?

Of course not. You are just so full of shit.

The English language is constantly changing to meet the needs of its people. Language is nothing more than a tool to convey the author's thoughts. This is why Harry Potter can be translated to multiple languages and still retain more or less the same story. It has even been translated to American English without bursting into flames (it's true)!

The only downside to the changing of the English language is the loss of some puns, which, to be completely honest, isn't really something worth shedding tears over.

 

[ike_ike]

You spelled Chaucer wrong.

 

[leet.firefox]

Hmmm. This reminds me of an interesting quote I read somewhere.

"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a whore. English doesn't just borrow words; at times, English has chased other languages down dark alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifled through their pockets for new words."

I may have butchered the quote, but you more or less get the meaning I would assume.

 

[Teh_Ephy]

I see things like 'This game isn't funny anymore' - It's not meant to be funny! Its meant to be FUN. Buy yourself a dictionary or stop speaking english.

Sometimes people say things like that, and they actually do mean funny.

Its not just in computer gaming - Would you like to buy some candy? Mom, can I buy some candy? Candy, Candy, and more ruddy Candy! Its sweets! S-W-E-E-T-S!

"Candy" is accepted American vernacular, similar to how American "cookies" and British "biscuits" refer to the same thing, how American "fries" and British "chips" refer to the same thing.

For those who don't own a dictionary - Kid means baby goat. When a goat has a child, it is reffered to as a kid. Like the horse has a foal and a chicken has a chick, a goat has a kid. A human child - CHILD - isn't a kid. Its a goat. Kid is now used to reffer to people from 1 year olds to 15 year olds and not only is it patronising and overused, it has robbed the world child from the English dictionary.

An affectionate term that became accepted vernacular, similar to how the name "Guy" is now a generic term for any male.

It seems to me that these replacements have been made up for fun. Soccer. Soccer! Its football! The british invented the sport! But you use a football don't you? For rugby. Thats pretty much what it is, just with a few new rules and wierd, freaky outfits.

Don't you know to just call it American football? No, it doesn't make sense, but neither does most of the English language in the first place. Also, the term "soccer" has permeated into parts of Canada as well.

A little known fact (learnt from QI, a british panel show. Don't get me started on american comedy...yet) is that the british invented baseball, previously called base ball.

What does this have to do with anything?

What on earth is slang anyway? As a fairly young person myself, I am almost expected to speak like it...umm...innit? I have trouble understanding the general slang terms of britain today, so I am therefore called a 'SWAT' or 'Posh git' - Whatever they mean.

If your inference skills are so poor that you can't keep up with your regional slang, you deserve to be insulted.

Oh yeah, I'd like to mention that Shakespeare made up as much bullshit slang as anyone alive today. "Assassin" and several other words in common use were completely made up by Shakespeare, who is actually suspected of being a pen name for several anonymous Olde English playwrights.

 

[klishky]

I see what jsprat100 means I dislike Americanisms.
BUT BEFORE YOU SAY I AIN'T POSH!!

 

[TwistedImage]

English isn't the only declining language. I'm Norwegian, and I can sure as heck say that hardly anyone speaks and/or writes Norwegian properly these days too. I guess the cause is that nobody cares.

On the OP, all I can say is "Lololol." You didn't even capitalize the first letter of every name.

No, I didn't bother to read the whole thread. D:

 

[wereguy2]

Agreed, stupid Americans and their "armour"....

 

[TwistedImage]

Americans spell it "armor" while the British spell it "armour." You obviously have no idea what you're talking about.

 

[CloudWolf]

The fact is, languages change over time. English at present is nothing like it was a few hundred years ago

I personally have no problem with people speaking a different variation of my native language. The only concern I do have is that it can be confusing when talking to someone who speaks one of these variations as they are so different.

The most prudent example of this would be that translators are actually being hired to translate Glaswegian English because people down south can't understand what they are saying Technically, its the same language, but has developed differently over time.

The same could be said for English Slang. Because it is so widely spread, should we categorise it as an official variation? Perhaps a new language all together? Or maybe slang will become so wide-spread it will literally replace the existing English language?

In all fairness though, the world is just too small for countries to keep their independent language. Foreign influences can greatly affect the way people speak, and its always going to be the case. For example, a couple from Africa may become residents in the UK. Technically, they may speak English, however, their native accents can cause mispronunciations of words and before you know it we've got another variation of the vocal English language Don't get me wrong though, I have nothing against people moving to my country

I think the bottom line is that languages will always change and adapt depending on the people who speak it. It is near impossible to keep a single steady variation of a language when so many people are involved from different backgrounds

That's just my opinion though

 

[D4RK_G4ND4LF]

if I had to look up every single word my mates would die in an instant
and most people in EU were raised from parents speaking a different language than English what makes it kind of hard to express oneself perfectly

however there aren't many people like you who'd correct me if I said something stupid and our English class is crap as well so nothing will change

(imho it will become worse but predicting things is stupid anyway...we'll see about that)

 

[TwistedImage]

I agree, CloudWolf, languages do change. However, my opinion is that it changes for the worse. I'd like to keep it's and its two separate words, for instance.

I'll take your example of foreigners moving in. This happens in Norway too. Sure, I have nothing against the fact that they speak horrid Norwegian. I do, however, have a lot against the fact that people who are born in Norway speak like the foreigners to look (or sound ) cool. Essentially, stupid teenagers are breaking the language to achieve their own ends - which are hardly ever good for themselves.

 

[CloudWolf]

I agree, CloudWolf, languages do change. However, my opinion is that it changes for the worse. I'd like to keep it's and its two separate words, for instance.

I'll take your example of foreigners moving in. This happens in Norway too. Sure, I have nothing against the fact that they speak horrid Norwegian. I do, however, have a lot against the fact that people who are born in Norway speak like the foreigners to look (or sound ) cool. Essentially, stupid teenagers are breaking the language to achieve their own ends - which are hardly ever good for themselves.

haha yea

I think its fair to say most young people will adapt words to make them sound cool I for one used to do it all the time I bet even my parents did at one point.

I used words like "Blates" and "Deffo" and I still do now and again depending on who I'm talking to lol

I think most people grow out of it though by the time they reach adulthood. Although, that assumption is purely based on my personal experience and nothing more

 

[Deleted member 157129]

You all fail to realize it's typically youth to use slang, invent new words and generally not care. Most people talk and write properly once they're past that period. That doesn't apply for immigrants though, and when these immigrants do everything they can not to learn the native tongue of their new country, and also keep their kids out of school to avoid cultural influence, it is as if they attack our language and culture alike. Which is a much more permanent disease, and the only cure is to prevent immigration- best way would probably be to kill the need to emigrate in the first place.

 

[TwistedImage]

You all fail to realize it's part of being youth to use slang, invent new words and generally not care.

Hi, I'm 14.

 

[ike_ike]

which are hardly ever good for themselves.

And who are you to determine that?

 

[Deleted member 157129]

Hi, I'm 14.

.. and?

 

[CloudWolf]

it's part of being youth to use slang, invent new words and generally not care. Most people talk and write properly once they're past that period.

I agree completely Like I said, I used slang myself but eventually grew out of it

Well.... almost, I still use the odd slang word now and again

 

[TwistedImage]

.. and?

And I don't use slang.

@ike, it's my opinion, anyone can disagree. I just find that when you do something not helping you in one way or another to achieve success it's not good for you.

 

[leet.firefox]

And I don't use slang.

Do you represent the entirety of the world's youth? Obviously one hundred percent of any group is not going to possess the exact same tendencies, but it's safe to say the majority of youth do use slang in their speech in one form or another.

 

[TwistedImage]

If you read his post again though, he said it as if every young person did, which is horrible generalization and why I posted.

 

[leet.firefox]

Yes it is. Bad shiiK, bad!

 

[Deleted member 157129]

Not every young person, I'm still young, but the majority of teens/youth do use slang and/or invent new words. Some of those words stick with you - I bet your parents know a few words they used to use when they were youth, perhaps they even use it now and then still. The point though, is that you can't really blame youth for talking different, because it's their nature to 'be cool' .. and that is per def, being different from the average adult, disobeying rules and so on and forth.

 

[TwistedImage]

I still think them stupid for doing that, but I agree. You just worded it in a bad way the first time.

 

[Teh_Ephy]

to 'be cool' ... is per def, being different from their parents, disobeying rules and so on and forth.

Unless your parents are something awesome like doctors or musicians. The children of rich snobs also tend to be rich snobs. Oh, and I have a few friends with totally cool parents. Then there's also "daddy's girl" and "momma's boy" stereotypes... Wow, it sure took me a while to beat your theory to death.

 

[TwistedImage]

shiiK just forgot a useful word again. D:

 

[PurplePoot]

Yes, the English language is clearly declining. We have such gems as:

For those who don't own a dictionary - Kid means baby goat. When a goat has a child, it is reffered to as a kid. Like the horse has a foal and a chicken has a chick, a goat has a kid. A human child - CHILD - isn't a kid. Its a goat. Kid is now used to reffer to people from 1 year olds to 15 year olds and not only is it patronising and overused, it has robbed the world child from the English dictionary.

Time to correct your grammar sentence by sentence. I normally dislike doing this, but seeing as you're ranting about rather trivial things (different cultures have different expressions, get over it) to do with the English language—spelling, grammar, expressions, the works—you deserve it.

Your first sentence is: For those who don't own a dictionary - Kid means baby goat.

First, you use a hyphen in place of an em dash and where a comma should be employed; hyphens are used to join words, not phrases, and not even their cousin (the em dash) is used in this scenario. Second, the word "kid" is wrongly capitalized, should be quoted, and should come after the words "the word" if you do not plan to present it in dictionary format.

The correct sentence would be: For those who don't own a dictionary, the word "kid" refers to a baby goat.

Your second sentence is: When a goat has a child, it is reffered to as a kid.

This is mostly correct, but your spelling of "referred" is way off. Any browser's spell checker should pick this one up even if you can't.

The correct sentence would be: When a goat has a child, it is referred to as a kid.

However, we can make this one even better by playing with pluralization: When goats have children, they are referred to as kids.

Your third sentence is: Like the horse has a foal and a chicken has a chick, a goat has a kid.

This sentence starts off rather short and awkward—try rearranging it.

A more correct sentence would be: Similarly, a young horse is called a foal and a young chicken is called a chick.

Notice how goat is not even mentioned there; since you just mentioned it in the previous sentence there is no need to.

The following two sentences are: A human child - CHILD - isn't a kid. Its a goat.

This sentence lacks an apostrophe, and in addition you are clearly confused about what the word "it" refers to in this context.

A more correct sentence would be (yes, they should be combined): A human child isn't a kid—a goat's child is.

Your last sentence is: Kid is now used to reffer to people from 1 year olds to 15 year olds and not only is it patronising and overused, it has robbed the world child from the English dictionary.

There are too many things wrong here to even list them. Let's just fix them, shall we?

The word "kid" is now used to refer to people from one to fifteen years of age and, in addition to being both patronizing and overused, it has robbed the word "child" from the English dictionary.

--

See what I can do with even a single one of your paragraphs?

TL;DR Don't criticize others' spelling or grammar—let alone expressions—if you can't be assed to watch your own.

What a load of shit. Language is a tool, and I don't intend to glorify tools. If you understand what another person is saying, there's nothing else to it. You adopt the dialect most suitable for your needs.

If I insult someone for their obvious grammatical deficiencies, it's because it's so horrible it inhibits communication, it's reflective of their intelligence, it's clearly a product of carelessness, or I just feel like being an asshole (Oh, shit, my list isn't in parallel structure. Go cry.)

Yes and no. I don't feel the need to complain about minor errors, but even if someone is able to get their point across perfectly with terrible grammar, it still sounds awkward. After all, regardless of whether the point they are getting across is given with the right words in roughly the right order, the wrong conjugation (for lack of a better word) of those words as well as extra fluff added in, the occasional word removed, spelling all over the place, horrible misuse of commas and apostrophes and so on can make a perfectly understandable "sentence" torturous.

 

[wereguy2]

D:
You must have a lot of time on your hands...

 

[PurplePoot]

D:
You must have a lot of time on your hands...

Yes, yes I do.

 

[Saken]

[HUMILIATION.]

Go get em' Poot.

 

[Deleted member 157129]

Unless your parents are something awesome like doctors or musicians. The children of rich snobs also tend to be rich snobs. Oh, and I have a few friends with totally cool parents. Then there's also "daddy's girl" and "momma's boy" stereotypes... Wow, it sure took me a while to beat your theory to death.

For starters, what the heck does a doctor have to do with being cool? If anything, being a doctor is uncool. Though I agree it would be cool to have musicians as parents. You know, rich snobs ain't cool. As for select parents being cool, I'm fully aware of that, and I'll take it to me right now, I used the wrong word, unintentionally. I intended to claim that they aim to differ from the average adult.

Basically, all I needed was to replace one word, and perhaps add one as well, and your death-punch wouldn't even scratch it.

 

[TwistedImage]

You have to be quite intelligent and get good grades to be a doctor. If your parents are intelligent then you should look up to them. I don't see any flaws in that logic, feel free to point some out if you do. >_>

 

[Deleted member 157129]

I am playing around with teen's definition of cool. Which is pretty much the opposite of getting good grades, concentrating on school, reading books.. the likes. Yes, you need to focus on school if you want to become a doctor (you don't have to be intelligent.. there's too many dumb doctors to justify that). No, I don't find it stupid for anyone to be willing to become something. Not at all. Though when you are a teen, it is considered uncool. A nerd is not cool. Cool isn't necessarily a positive term. If my bed is cool, I'd like to heat it up.

I wasn't cool in school, because I got all good grades. Being cool is an excuse for people that don't care, don't understand, but are not retarded. When life goes on though, cool is different. I can be cool even if I get good grades now. I'm cool with that.

Anyhow, we're way off topic, I was referring to 'slang' being 'cool' amongst youth. It is.

 

[Saken]

I made good grades for the most part, (Fuck you Algebra I & II...) though I was still considered cool. I was never one of those stupid wiggers or preppy kids, I was just myself, with no label attatched. I even had two kids bow down to me in lunch, two stoner kids who would be considered ''cool'' by your standards.

 

[Deleted member 157129]

Heh, I'm practically basing my theory of what 'cool' was in youth by basing it on everything I did not do; break rules, skip school and get bad grades. That's essentially all I did not do, and for that I was considered uncool. Everyone assumed that I sat on my ass studying maths after school. While I in fact never did. Basically, I was rarely home other than for sleep.

So, when I got to High School (err.. 'Further Going School' is the Norwegian term .. I'm not sure if High School is appropriate.. it's the 11th, 12th and 13th year of school, alternatively 2 years school and 2 years as an apprentice, working for wages) I did a lot of different things, I skipped school a lot, didn't care for my French grades, nor my Religion or History grades. I 'broke' the rules, lied to my teacher, left class spontaneously, drank beer in breaks.. you get the idea. For that I got labelled a rebellious outlaw, on the wrong side of town. I guess you could say I tried both. Now I'm just myself, and people are cool with that.