Rex Bachmann
Screenwriter
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2001
- Messages
- 1,972
- Real Name
- Rex Bachmann
Ryan Wright wrote:
Language certainly cannot be legislated, either formally (by laws) or informally (through ossified rules passed on through social pressure). It never works. Never has. Never will. Not to promote wild innovations like re, ris (the push for which is informed by a sociopolitical agenda that itself is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of language and how it works), nor to preserve ossified relics set up by a ruling elite and also based on misunderstanding of linguistic facts, history, and behavior:
While I tend to agree with the specifics of this statement, we part company at its underlying presupposition that you---and those who think like you---have some sole and exclusive right of arbitration over what is "legitimate" (or "proper") and what is not, whether it's language use or social policy, or anything else.be said:Quote:
Language certainly cannot be legislated, either formally (by laws) or informally (through ossified rules passed on through social pressure). It never works. Never has. Never will. Not to promote wild innovations like re, ris (the push for which is informed by a sociopolitical agenda that itself is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of language and how it works), nor to preserve ossified relics set up by a ruling elite and also based on misunderstanding of linguistic facts, history, and behavior:
- "Language must not be allowed to 'decay' (i.e., change)."
- "written language = spoken language (i.e., written language is the language)."
- "Writing takes precedence over speaking "
- etc.