Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 3 of 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Originally Posted By: Porcupine
Yes, I imagine.

However, I would surmise that just as technology is advancing and at unprecedented speed, so is language being influenced by the advancement of technology at a rate that has never before been witnessed.


well, we're seemtainly more aware of it these days.


formerly known as etaoin...
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 155
M
member
Offline
member
M
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 155
Calling someone a solipsist could be in some situations be taken as a solecism.

I should disclose that I’m only looking at solipsism from the egocentric predicament.

Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
i don't think that the rate of change is different.. i think that what has happened is we are aware of all the changes, in all the dialects..

Scot's english is so different than the english of london (less so now, than 100 years ago.)
English in US is more unified too.. Newspapers, transportation, wars, TV and the internet have served to level the language.


The local differences (that 1000 years past resulted in vulgar latin becoming French, or Spanish, or Italian, or Romanian) are less localized.

I not only read about slang in Oz or NZ, i socialize (albeit infrequently) with friends from Oz or NZ, or Scotland, or South Africa.. and i learn their slang, their lexis, and while i don't use it--occationally a word comes along, that is just the right thing--and that word gets a much wider audience than ever before.

many computer users all over the world use google --it borders on defining a search engine.

100-150 years ago, chains (like woolworths, like A & P, like Sears (& Roebuck)) were becoming well known, not just in 1 place but in many--the created a world wide standard for shopping.

the same universality is now extending to language.

of troy #173135 02/03/08 03:21 PM
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
i don't think that the rate of change is different

Some linguists hold that the rate of language change is constant and can be measured: most famously Morris Swadesh and his glottochronology. (A modern proponent is Don Ringe of UPenn who uses computational model based on cladistics in biology to determine when languages split off into separate branches: some papers here.) Others reason that the rate is variable. R M W Dixon, an Australian linguist, wrote an interesting, short book, The Rise and Fall of Languages (1997), in which he posits a model for language change that replaces the familiar Stammbaumtheorie (family tree theory of Johann Schmidt) of languages genetic relationship with one borrowed from from evolutionary biology, i.e., punctuated equilibrium. (It is, in part, based on some ideas from areal linguistics, e.g., the concept of the Sprachbund.)

It can be observed that the change between Old and Modern English and between Vulgar Latin and the various Romance languages took place fairly rapidly during the so-called Dark Ages, a volutile period when little in the way of literature was written or survived.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529
T
veteran
Offline
veteran
T
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529
The rate of language change is only incidental. The change of the language into a more effective vehicle for commuting complex ideas is the measure of a vibrant society. Contrast Shakespearian times with our own...

"I to the world am like a drop of water,
That in the ocean seeks another drop;
Who, falling there to find his fellow forth,
Unseen, inquisitive, confounds himself."
------------------------------------------- Comedy of Errors

“We have found that social networks are not monetising as well as we were expecting,” said George Reyes, chief financial officer, as Google reported its earnings for the final quarter of last year."
-------------------------------------------- Google press release today.

Yeah, you know, like "monetising"!
Silly Googledegop hip-hop, meaning little but sounding in the know...what fools you mortals be.


Last edited by themilum; 02/03/08 05:53 PM.
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Originally Posted By: of troy
i don't think that the rate of change is different.. i think that what has happened is we are aware of all the changes, in all the dialects..


thanks, my shoulders were getting cold.


formerly known as etaoin...
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 29
P
newbie
OP Offline
newbie
P
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 29
Monetising - the process of making an otherwise clear and vivid painting into a blurry mass of colors. Only applies to paintings depicting serene images of haystacks, colorful gardens, and still ponds with bridges.

Not to be confused with Manetising.

Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
>Not to be confused with Manetising.

ha!

Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Or taking your Monet to Christie's.

Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529
T
veteran
Offline
veteran
T
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529

Be careful, Porcupine, your playful depiction of the blurred haystacks, smokestacks, shacks, and colorful gardens painted by Monet might offend The BranShea -- our resident artist par excellence -- who has made stacks and sacks and shacks of money by monetising the Netherland's
colorful gardens.


What say, BranShe, will you show the Porcupine a picture?
.

Page 3 of 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 444 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5