Quote:
Originally Posted by elcreative
Ah... didn't say "proper English," said "proper evolution of the English language." Anyway, we'll soon sort you out once you finally give up on that stupid rebellion you started in the latter part of the 18th century...  |
If British English is the properly evolved one, then Australians have basically bastardised the language no? (
Aussieland!!)
>> This forum is totally Americanised because it refuses to acknowledge my 's', but I won't change it
Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf
But the truth is, nobody speaks proper English. Proper English would be like reading a Shakespeare play. English from what it start out as has diverged in every country and every country has it's own variation. Nobody's English is better then the other. It's just what it has become over time.
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This.
This discussion reminds me of the (free!) "Evolving English" exhibit I attended at the British Library. The
British Library has acknowledged the dialectical evolution of the English language due to geographic distances, why not us?
However, I'd argue that proper English even exists in a Shakespeare play. Look at the number of variations of spelling on Shakespeare's name even! He spelled it differently in all of the 6 signatures that currently exist.
Plus the original prints of his plays that survived till today have different spelling and parts missing and parts added... NONE of which is consistent.
I think it is only in modern times that we care about spelling so much. The printing press has been invented for eons and it is only in recent decades that we are as anal-retentive as to put a red mark against grammar and spelling in a
published material.
We forget that the beauty of the English language lies in how we can play around with words to make it seem more impressive than it is.