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ArchivesRe: Thanks...
in reply to a message by Cleveland Kent Evans
The reaction of a large part of the educated world to prescriptive grammar and spelling is of bemusement ... Of course, various Indian languages have had their stint with such exercises in the past, but today we define the language by educated native usage, not by what the educated native usage should be.
As a subject of study, usage is far more interesting to many of us than prescriptions ever can be. As I once noted in a different context, to many people, Spanish is what Spanish people do and say, not what even the majority of Spanish think they ought to do and say.
But, this discussion was very informative for a different point of view: thanks.
As a subject of study, usage is far more interesting to many of us than prescriptions ever can be. As I once noted in a different context, to many people, Spanish is what Spanish people do and say, not what even the majority of Spanish think they ought to do and say.
But, this discussion was very informative for a different point of view: thanks.
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Computers make life so much easier. The ongoing Collins dictionary project with Birmingham University, called Cobuild, has a massive database of current English - spoken, written, broadcast - which is being used for some truly excellent dictionaries for second-language users; they give words a star rating according to frequency of usage, so 'food' gets five stars (the maximum) and 'foodstuff' only one. So helpful!
To my sorrow, they don't do given names. Maybe some day?
Here in South Africa we have an academy for the Afrikaans language, but not for English or any of the other indigenous languages. It's loosening up considerably, becoming more usage-based, but in the past it was ludicrously prescriptive.
To my sorrow, they don't do given names. Maybe some day?
Here in South Africa we have an academy for the Afrikaans language, but not for English or any of the other indigenous languages. It's loosening up considerably, becoming more usage-based, but in the past it was ludicrously prescriptive.
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