reggrshion or Progression

Some believe that language is being destroyed or enhanced by things such as slang, accent and dialect, the internet and phone talk. Do you believe that language is being destroyed and degraded or do you think it is forever accending?

Depends on how you see it. But one thing remains constant: it changes.

I've never heard people actually use online language except in a mocking tone. Rest assured if I actually find someone who is using that kind of language in any kind of seriousness, I'll do my best to remove their reproductive ability.

What ravage said is proper.

As long as we get to keep making up words it's cool.

My english teacher said it was racist of me to say that some of Langston Hughes poems written in a poor black southern dialogue was "improper" grammar.

Whatever, I just hate ebonics. It's not even English anymore, cause I can't understand any of it.

You know it's gone way downhill when white people start saying 'nigga'.

Scuba Steve said:

My english teacher said it was racist of me to say that some of Langston Hughes poems written in a poor black southern dialogue was "improper" grammar.

Your english teacher is a retard who wants to see the english language destroyed and probably hasn't even met a black person before.

I don't care. Why? Because as long as we can communicate, it's fine. If people have nothing better to do with thier lives then try to stop a language from changing on it's natural course I feel bad for them.

Imagine if languages hadn't changed since 1340.

nightice said:

You know it's gone way downhill when white people start saying 'nigga'.

It's gone WAY downhill in McKeesport, PA.

I agree with ravage's point, and would go on to say changes in language are fine.

Scuba Steve said:

My english teacher said it was racist of me to say that some of Langston Hughes poems written in a poor black southern dialogue was "improper" grammar.

I'd actually mostly agree :P Although it's more ethnocentric than racist really, because you're defining what "proper English" is in relation to your own culture, while treating minority (and locally appropriate) dialects as "improper". Languages only have the rules given them, and different societies tend to change these rules. To consider, for instance, the radically altered English of Daniel Webster and the white European immigrants to America "proper" but call "poor black southern English" improper is a pretty biased approach to the issue, since neither would be considered proper to the rules of the English, who originally developed the language. In this sense you're giving the "authority" to change the rules of language to the white Europeans but dismissing modifications by black southerners as "improper".

Scuba Steve said:

My english teacher said it was racist of me to say that some of Langston Hughes poems written in a poor black southern dialogue was "improper" grammar.

I wouldn't call you racist. I would, however, call you an unrefined philistine with no appreciation for creative license. Sho nuff.

Fuck ya'll.

It started when the Mayflower arrived sans a dictionary :P

Fredrik said:

Imagine if languages hadn't changed since 1340.

Supposeth that thine imagination hath come true? Thou shalt not attempt to divine alternate reality.

On a more serious note, I think that language is going downhill is more ways than net-speak. Swearing is a major downer for me, because I believe that anything that could be said with a few hundred F-bombs could also be said in a more polite, swear-less way.

Slang confuses me often, because I don't get out of the house much (or didn't, at least) and I don't have many social contacts outside of the few friends I have at school and around home. I'm happy that there is the Urban Dictionary, but often times I'll hear someone say "Down street the flip flop time pants!" and just be standing there bewildered over if this was a good thing or a bad thing to hear.

WildWeasel said:

"Down street the flip flop time pants!"

ARGH WHAT IS THAT FROM

Scuba Steve said:
My english teacher said it was racist of me to say that some of Langston Hughes poems, written in a poor black southern dialogue was , used "improper" grammar.

C-

WildWeasel said:

Supposeth that thine imagination hath come true? Thou shalt not attempt to divine alternate reality.

Fail.

That was the English of Shakespere's time. That was, for all intents and purposes, Modern English, except with archaic pronouns (thy, thou) and conjugations (-eth) that were gradualy phased out of the language around the 17th and 18th century.

Middle English was the language around 1340, which looked like this:

With hym ther was his sone, a yong SQUIER,
A lovyere and a lusty bacheler;
With lokkes crulle, as they were leyd in presse.
Of twenty yeer of age he was, I gesse.
Of his stature he was of evene lengthe,
And wonderly delyvere, and of greet strengthe.
And he hadde been somtyme in chyvachie
In Flaundres, in Artoys, and Pycardie,
And born hym weel, as of so litel space,
In hope to stonden in his lady grace.
Embrouded was he, as it were a meede,
Al ful of fresshe floures, whyte and reede;
Syngynge he was, or floytynge, al the day,
He was as fressh as is the monthe of May.
Short was his gowne, with sleves longe and wyde.
Wel koude he sitte on hors, and faire ryde.
He koude songes make, and wel endite,
Juste, and eek daunce, and weel purtreye and write.
So hoote he lovede, that by nyghtertale
He slepte namoore than dooth a nyghtyngale.
Curteis he was, lowely, and servysable,
And carf biforn his fader at the table.

-- The Canterbury Tales - Prologue, by Geoffry Chaucer

I always liked Middle English and Old English. It's fun to try to decipher it. Old English is especialy fun because there is a strong German influance in the language (it's also referred to as Anglo-Saxon), and I can see both primitive German and English words in there.

Old English:

Ða com of more under misthleoþum
Grendel gongan, godes yrre bær;
mynte se manscaða manna cynnes
sumne besyrwan in sele þam hean.
Wod under wolcnum to þæs þe he winreced,
goldsele gumena, gearwost wisse,
fættum fahne. Ne wæs þæt forma sið
þæt he Hroþgares ham gesohte;
næfre he on aldordagum ær ne siþðan
heardran hæle, healðegnas fand.

-- Beowulf, Chapter XI

I know the forum format is just gonna smush the formatting of that poem, which I think is neat. Oh well.

In case you guys wanna read these in full:

Canterbury Tales
Beowulf

Both are also in Modern English as well in case it gives you too much of a headache. :P

As a final note, I can't believe no one noticed the blatant spelling error in the thread title, especialy considering this is a thread about English. ...or is it supposed to be some kind of joke I don't get?

Txt tlk iz da worst fckin invenshun eva. I h8 al da peeps hu use it. It mks me go insne.

TRANSLATION

Text talk is the worst fucking invention ever. I hate all the people that use it. It makes me go insane.

The same goes for internet speak. I mean for fucks sake, at least try and be legible.

The whole purpose of language is for it to evolve and change, without such changes it become worthless to the society using it.

I should fill my tax forms out in leet-speak.

I want to see some rap lyrics translated into olde english.

BBG said:

The whole purpose of language is for it to evolve and change

Not quite, the purpose of spoken language is to allow members of the same species to share complex ideas easier and a lot better than grunts and howls could.

The goal of language change is to reach a pre-Bable state. Whether or not the Tower of Bable story is true the process of borrowing words and coining terms is taking us back to the idea of a single language. As times go on European languages, for example become more similar. First Europe and then...the WORLD! etc.

I don't want to look like a big headed English patriot but the English language is the key to this language union. Firstly it is the language spoken by America, a strong business country making it neccisary for other countries to learn it. Secondly the language of the internet is said to be english and apparently it is vital. Lastly it is one of the easiest and most learned second languages, though not the most spoken, in Asia.

http://www.ozyandmillie.org/2003/om20030613.gif

For some reason this thread reminded me of this particular comic strip.

Props to D.C. Simpson for such a FINE comic strip

If any thing the language is increasing, by adding all these new words, you can now describe some thing in great detail, or put some thing in a certain context for the listener/reader to understand...
More words to decribe some thing is better, more is usually always better!

Quast said:

Not quite, the purpose of spoken language is to allow members of the same species to share complex ideas easier and a lot better than grunts and howls could.

However, if language didn't evolve, you'd be restricted to sharing the same set of complex ideas over and over.

fraggle said:

I want to see some rap lyrics translated into olde english.

Or maybe someone should just rap to Beowulf. It's already in rhyme I think. Not sure since I can't pronounce most of it. :P