Of course there are thousands of books from modern times that will go down in the annals as works of literature – The absence of brilliant minds
transcribing their thoughts to paper is a point which we have yet to reach, and I doubt we ever shall…
More at hand...
Languages evolve over time & English is no different
Idioms, metonymies, phrases, analogies, metaphors, slang….They all have temporal and geological boundaries….With an appropriate degree of
linguistic observation over the years, you can actually trace the change, along with its cultural significance…
As much as some people regretfully despise Ebonics (and those who speak it), it
is a formal language – There
are people who devote
their life’s work to studying and analyzing the unique characteristics of that particular dialect….
And it’s not just English that has these sudden and unwelcome changes…But over time we do learn to accept and incorporate them into our
vocabulary…
The language a society uses is often a direct reflection of socio-economic status….Some societies like the Hindu even have very distinct and
separate languages that are indicators from the moment someone opens their mouth as to where they come from and what cast they belong to…
It’s not a flaw in English, but in the people who speak it….If we want to change the way we speak, we have to change the way we think and act as a
society…
But blaming the victims of inequality and misfortune is not a step towards resolution…
[edit on 11/28/2005 by EnronOutrunHomerun]
