REALLY Off-topic Correct English

Chris Ashton cashton@engr.arizona.edu
Sat, 6 Dec 1997 13:34:28 -0700 (MST) (00881462068, Pine.OSF.3.95.971206131425.23865B-100000@engr.arizona.edu) 

RICHARD:

>   (I have found that discussions of questions of grammar and correct usage

> are very similar to discussions of religion:  many unfounded assertions and

> propounding of opinion as fact by people who don't really know much about

> it, often using the Dictionary as 'the Word of God':  "The dictionary 

> says...!")


   Heheheh .. you haven't scratched the half of it.  To me, Till and
company seems to me like the Christian moral presuppositionists who
proclaim there is "ONLY ONE TRUE MORAL CODE" as they tell us there is
"ONLY ONE TRUE CORRECT USAGE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE".  Should we
not conform to his absolute standard of English grammar, then we 
might as well be uncouth barbarians.  Woe to this nation if next 
week all anglophones started saying "It is you who is wrong" instead of
the proper "It is you who ARE wrong" - or "who is this addressed to?"
rather than "to whom is this addressed?" - or even (may Gods forbid!)
"Till and me" rather than "Till and I"!  It's anathema to suggest
that the English language is defined by the people who use it, or
to believe that heretical concept that language is used to COMMUNICATE,
not to start discussion-list grammar flame-wars.  As long as the
speaker can convey his meaning clearly and unambigously, I don't
care how he misconjugates verbs or misdeclines nouns or uses 
anacronistic "sexist" language.

   And a note on smilies: I am glad some people are fluent in the dry
and humorless "doctorate thesis" style of writing, but for me, I
cannot imagine any convenient way of expressing sarcasm except 
without that useful invention known as the smiley.  Now of course
sarcasm can be misused, for example as Nancy pointed out there is
no point in calling someone a hairless son of crippled goat and
excusing yourself with the smiley.  But hey, that's a personal
problem, not a grammatical one. :-)

- Chris "Death to the MLA!" Ashton

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