[G4] Correct English Flame War

[ewood at izoom.net]

> And here's yet another old curmudgeon who would remind you that the
> correct spelling of grammar does not include an "e" in place of the
> second "a". Also, the correct usage is "people ... who" instead of
> "people ... that". Since we're in a glass house, so to speak, I'll not
> cast more stones.
>
> :^)
>
> Jim Scott

It's something worth study, just how America has come to let its language
suffer. I suppose the greatest factor is the lack of a language academy,
so that we lack a central authority on the subject, more or less. Our
country also lacks an official language, and this might be leading to a
lack of linguistic pride and identity.

And then we just have less reading and prose writing overall, which lends
our language a more utilitarian nature. Thus people type quick SMSes and
emails, being more concerned with the kind of rapid communication
associated with spoken language than with literacy and style. I think the
shift away from traditional literacy is eroding the written word, and
education would have to make great efforts to even hope to halt or reverse
this. Too many people just don't care enough in a society where good prose
is not strictly required to be respected and make a living. So if I follow
this line of reasoning, economic concerns take precedence over literacy,
and then let's not forget that people have auto-correcting word processors
to fix their mistakes for them, should they even choose to use those.