|
|
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467 |
>Like, whatever.
You say a lot of humorous things, Dr. Bill, and those two words may be the funniest you've ever posted here.
TEd
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
The prescriptivist fallacy is that what the descriptivists describe has no rules.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 872
old hand
|
|
old hand
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 872 |
Like, whatever. ~ Dr Bill You say a lot of humorous things, Dr. Bill, and those two words may be the funniest you've ever posted here. ~ TEd Like, you know, I agree TEddy-O, it's just a loud crying shame that the good doc said them cool words the one, single, onliest time that Faldage was absolutely right. ->  <- mw
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
"And if Dubya's been idificated and still does it it's a sign of stupidity." Maybe. "Educated" people tried for years to get me to change my ignorant habit of referring to my home town as Loo-uh-vul. It never worked. They gave all kinds of hints that I wasn't quite up to snuff, but none of them ever had the guts to say it to my face. More to the point, while one of my best friends, a truly brilliant fellow, knows the one and only correct pronunciation and nevertheless insists on saying noo-cyu-lar, it wouldn't even occur to me to think of him as either ignorant or stupid. http://wingedsphere.com/ftv/ftv_home.htm Dean Z is the short-haired guy on the left. I'd like to educate him - I only wish I were qualified. All of this is not of course to say that I don't feel a bit jealous that the Brits have someone so articulate, sincere, thoughtful, and, well, just plain smart, as Tony Blair. "Ignorance can be cured, stupidity goes all the way to the bone." I've heard that too. In fact, I don't think ignorance is such a bad thing at all, as everyone I've ever met possessed it to some degree. I'm not sure how it ever became a put-down. k
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
Prescriptivism, descriptivism, piss-against-the-wallitism...
Dubya sounds like a dunce saying nukyooler.
I had a principal long ago who always said, "pacific" instead of "specific." He was a really sweet guy--and we teachers used to chuckle everytime he said "pacific" meaning "specific." I doubt any of us would have corrected him because of the big fish/small pond environment. Besides, we liked him.
But with Dubya it's different. Very big fish; very big pond...memories of someone out there having misspelled the very basic potato.
And it ain't a big deal to learn how to pronounce nuclear. Hasn't each of us here thought some word somewhere was pronounced a certain way only to learn later we were incorrect? And was it a big deal to plug in the correct pronunication? No. No big deal. But everytime Dubya gets in front of a TV camera, he's reaching a huge audience--and his nukyooler falls upon the ears of either wincing know-better's or innocents who might imitate him. If he doesn't care about refining his use of the language, then he sets no example. He shows that sloppiness is tolerable, he shows that there is no need to be curious about the progression of the language, he shows that there is no need to improve one's command of the language, and he makes me (a guppy in a shot glass) just plain mad.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 320
enthusiast
|
|
OP
enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 320 |
Amen, Theresa! Descriptivism may have its defenders, but it can be a slippery slope.
"Now heaven knows
Anything goes."
~~Cole Porter
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
My understanding is that Quayle was given a flashcard with a misspelled word on it. Why isn't anyone making fun of teachers (who presumably made the card in the first place)? At best, it's only a half-truth. This story goes in the same category as the one about Gore claiming he invented the Internet.
It would be nice if all of our statesmen were linguaphiles, but so far as I'm aware it's not a prerequisite for the position. Moreover, a person can be very well aware of "THE correct" pronunciation and neverthess feel that the word sounds funny and unnatural when said that way.
I'm strongly ambivalent in these situations. On the one hand, when people don't speak in the way I think they should speak, I sometimes find it extremely grating. OTOH, having been judged stupid on numerous occasions based on my vocabulary or my accent (or, I know this is hard to believe, but there are people who will valuate people's intelligence based on their perceptions of their political opinions), I try (I mean I really try) to force myself not to judge the intelligence or worth of people because of their habits of speech.
k
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
innocents who might imitate him
The history of language is writ by innocents imitating.
a slippery slope
Note to attackers of the non-syllogistic use of the phrase begging the question:
Slippery Slope is also the name of a logical fallacy.
One can be a descriptivist without defending or condoning sloppy usage, as one can be a prescriptivist and practice sloppy usage. Pronunciation shift is a part of language; discounting the contributions of someone whose usages do not match one's own only limits the holder of these prejudices.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Prescriptivism is a dirty word, but must we cheerfully join the idiots who can't tell
one tenth from nine tenths? (good old decimate).
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
By the original meaning of the word one tenth were killed outright and nine tenths were shipped of to other legions. None were left in situ. A legion that was decimated had no one left in it.
|
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,810
Members9,187
| |
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
|
|
|
0 members (),
373
guests, and
1
robot. |
|
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|
