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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055 |
BYB - I have to point out that Bill S. did NOT go following any standardised system of written English, if anything, he started to create his own. Everyone knows that he too, like Helen, was a creative speller. He didn't follow standardised written form, because conservative conformists hadn't had their way with English at that point. I agree with Mr. Ward in that respect; many great writers did not stick to such rules (at least not as stringent ones) concerning their spelling or grammar. Nowdays writers are all but forced to trudge through the sticky mess created by writers of dictionaries/grammar books/school books etc. who are celebrated as heroes. Now, would anyone here consider reading a book written in 'freespeling'? Not many I expect. I'm certain Shakepeare wouldn't have raised an eyebrow at the thought. People love following rules, even if they're just rules of hearsay. (see the following for examples http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/nonerrors.html) English as a tool for expression is stifled; barriers have been set up by those who feel they have a right to corner and harness the language, because they can't stand to see it growing beyond themselves. There are a lot of practical reasons that speak for standardised spelling & grammar, but it nevertheless, it restricts people's acceptance to language when used freely to create art.
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379 |
There are a lot of practical reasons that speak for standardised spelling & grammar, but it nevertheless, it restricts people's acceptance to language when used freely to create art.
Although I can't claim to be among its stringent adherents, I agree that standard orthography is important. As you suggest, however, it is not all important. "Misspellings" can be useful in poetry and, probably, in literature in general. Of course, misspellings as such require a standard with which to conflict.
The conflict of conservatism, in the literal sense of 'conservation,' and the maverick is universal. The academy can be stiflingly conservative and, yet, leaving aside the question of anarchy (which I am ill equipped to discuss), the presence of conservationist institutions is necessary to culture--to conservative and maverick alike.
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,004
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
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He Belly Methinks the lad doth protest too much? There are a lot of practical reasons that speak for standardised spelling & grammar, but it nevertheless, it restricts people's acceptance to language when used freely to create art.The great William Caxton himself pleaded for some form of standardisation. I can't remember where I read it, but he written the equivalent of an essay on the inconsistencies in English, flavoured with an anecdote about the differing use of 'eggs' versus 'eyren'. Whilst I appreciate that art is often wonderful when not straitjacketed by hidebound conventions, I also believe that this explosion of expressiveness almost always comes from someone who is already a master craftsman, and is then pushing the boundaries. I cannot think of great art being created by anyone without an intimate knowledge of, and deep love of, the structure of the medium - be it painting on canvas or writing plays. Even famous 'non-representational' artists like Picasso or Matisse, if you look at their early work, were superb draughtsmen first. Even the ol' Bard of Avon, while creative, was not arbitrary in his use of the language. The inconsistency in his spelling is down to the fact the printing had not yet fully standardised the conventions of spelling. His pronunciation, from what we can tell, was reflected in his spelling - and would probably be a kind of Midlands-modified-to-London speech. Ah well... let's have a heated debate.  cheer the sunshine warrior
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