my response to grammar nazis will always be. "Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo."
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I'm done apologizing for ...
- Thread starter Munjibunga
- Start date
No - descriptivism says that's what is happening. It doesn't say anything about whether it's ok or not ok.
Remember, end those sentences with a preposition of less than six letters-for, from, of, to...
Longer ones can be ok too, notwithstanding.
Let me rephrase.
It's a change that makes language slighly less effective. Prescriptivism says that it's not OK. Descriptivism doesn't say that it's not OK. I see that as a flaw in descriptivism.
Let me rephrase.
It's a change that makes language slighly less effective. Prescriptivism says that it's not OK. Descriptivism doesn't say that it's not OK. I see that as a flaw in descriptivism.
I don't think that prescriptivists typically make arguments based on the actual effectiveness of language use.
Descriptivism is a scientific approach to the study of language - if what you say here is a flaw, then it is a flaw in science.
I couldn't begin to tell you how many hours I spend deconstructing that sentence when I first heard it a few years ago. I eventually figured it out and thus used it on other people; the looks on their faces were priceless.
Gratuitous Wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo
For the longest time I thought the line was
"But in this every-changing world in which we live in..." - I found it ironic that a phrase that started so "properly" fell apart "English-wise" so badly until I finally heard what was actually being said.
Seemed like an appropriate thread to drop that comment in... er, to... um, at.
"But in this every-changing world in which we live in..." - I found it ironic that a phrase that started so "properly" fell apart "English-wise" so badly until I finally heard what was actually being said.
Seemed like an appropriate thread to drop that comment in... er, to... um, at.
metron said:Grammar nazis on the internet are priceless.
Did i say that correctly?
You need an apostrophe in "It's"
You also forgot to capitalize "I"
I am and will remain a grammar nazi. (<Lack of capitalization is intentional.)
Why?
Because without clear, accurate communication your knowledge does not matter and your questions are irrelevant. I have maintained for years that clear and accurate communication is critical to function in society.
Just because you're writing online doesn't mean that you can communicate effectively by writing 200-word sentences with no capitals or punctuation. It also does not mean that you should not take personal pride in making an effort to communicate clearly. We have all seen posts here which are little short of gibberish.
I probably go back and edit at least 80% of the posts I write; in many cases, it's simply to change a punctuation mark or make editorial changes which make my meaning more clear. That's my own commitment to communicating clearly.
Why?
Because without clear, accurate communication your knowledge does not matter and your questions are irrelevant. I have maintained for years that clear and accurate communication is critical to function in society.
Just because you're writing online doesn't mean that you can communicate effectively by writing 200-word sentences with no capitals or punctuation. It also does not mean that you should not take personal pride in making an effort to communicate clearly. We have all seen posts here which are little short of gibberish.
I probably go back and edit at least 80% of the posts I write; in many cases, it's simply to change a punctuation mark or make editorial changes which make my meaning more clear. That's my own commitment to communicating clearly.
Forgive me for fixing that. The word "Internet" should also be capitalised. It's a proper noun.
You know, I thought I was the only one.
I suspect we're working with slightly different definitions, probably due to drinking with different English teachers (at least in my case). No matter - my point was more that neither rigid adherence to a standard nor "anything goes" is optimal.
In linguistics, just like in politics or economics, go too far in one direction or the other and you start to meet some very strange folk...
