Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2010/03/12
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]On Mar 12, 2010, at 3:48 PM, Vince Passaro wrote: > My good man, I claim it and I took NINE years of grammar in the Catholic > schools and from there went on to spend my adult life immersed in the > requirements and pleasures of English. There are many many more expert than > I but I'm no slouch. > > So I know you ain't right. > > I would add -- and this is going to infuriate people -- that to my mind the > only vivid and creative new developments in the English language in my > lifetime have taken place in the context of urban culture and its > tremendously inventive, sly, colorful new forms of speech. Of course, > 'standard' English is meant for those in power; those without power have to > speak in code. Thus, in the U.S.,black English since at least the mid-19th > century has been, quite intentionally, only marginally comprehensible to > whites. > > So when people complain about irregular speech and bad grammar and such > they > are not talking about Mark Twain's vernacular, Casey Stengel's, or Yogi > Berra's. INVARIABLY they are talking about people whom they view, or whom > they want to depict, as below them socially. brilliant, and I agree, Steve > > On Fri, Mar 12, 2010 at 1:39 PM, Nathan Wajsman <photo at > frozenlight.eu>wrote: > >> I have heard this "bourgeois preoccupation" anecdote before. >> >> Yes, of course language evolves, and English probably more than most, but >> that does not mean that there are no rules. People who claim that are >> simply >> too lazy to learn and apply them. >> >> Nathan >> >> Nathan Wajsman >> Alicante, Spain >> http://www.frozenlight.eu >> http://www.greatpix.eu >> http://www.nathanfoto.com >> >> Books: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/search?search=wajsman&x=0&y=0 >> PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws >> Blog: http://www.fotocycle.dk/blog >> >> >> >> >> >> >> On Mar 12, 2010, at 3:38 PM, Vince Passaro wrote: >> >>> oh puhleeze. as a teacher of mine once said, a world-respected scholar in >>> the history of modern english -- "spelling is a bourgeois preoccupation." >>> english has no academy and no formal set of rules, and almost every >>> grammatical so-called rule you were taught in english has numerous >>> exceptions. it is a fluid and changeable language and this is a crucial >> part >>> of its vigor and its beauty. >>> >>> i hope i've impacted someone on this. >>> >>> actually, i hate 'impact' as a verb. but i don't claim it's a rule. i >> just >>> claim people who use it aren't my friends, and when i've had to work for >>> them i've been miserable. >>> >>> vince >>> >>> On Thu, Mar 11, 2010 at 3:37 PM, Greg Lorenzo <gregj_lorenzo at >>> hotmail.com >>> wrote: >>> >>>> >>>> Nathan Wajsman writes: >>>> >>>>> >>>>> Is it considered "modern" to write without verbs and discarding rules >> of >>>> punctuation etc.? >>>>> >>>>> I suppose he fancies himself a present-day James Joyce with a camera >> and >>>> his stream of consciousness. >>>> >>>> >>>> I consider it, along with non-use of capital letters, a sign of an >> improper >>>> education. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Greg Lorenzo >>>> >>>> Calgary, Canada >>>> >>>> _________________________________________________________________ >>>> Hotmail: Free, trusted and rich email service. >>>> http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469228/direct/01/ >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Leica Users Group. >>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >>>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Leica Users Group. >>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >>> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >> > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information