The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #118743   Message #2570378
Posted By: Genie
18-Feb-09 - 05:23 PM
Thread Name: BS: World's best grammatical howlers
Subject: RE: BS: World's best grammatical howlers
"Only dead languages have fixed rules and spelling. Living languages change all the time. Live with it
- Stu"

Before mass communication technology (especially the internet), such changes tended to occur gradually enough not to make a huge problem during any individual's lifetime.   I mean, one could pretty much understand the letters written by one's own grandparents, for example.

What happens now is a twofold problem:
1) Some people, such as bloggers, TV advertisers, and others who command widespread media attention, seem to be able to change the verbal habits of millions of people almost overnight.   A grammatical mistake seen on the internet or heard/seen on TV is likely to be 'consumed' by huge numbers of people.   This gives those people -- who are often not that well trained in grammar and spelling themselves -- a very disproportionate impact (e.g., compared to English teachers or established authors).

2) To paraphrase an old saying, "A grammatical or spelling error makes its way around the world before proper (previously established) usage gets it trousers on."

Are we to accept "give it to Tom or I" as correct because some TV star or pop singer used that phrase and the rest of the media (often being chosen more for their looks than for their skill or knowledge) started parroting that?