Language in Flux

Here’s an ignorant statement I heard on a recent episode of Grammar Girl from the podcaster herself regarding nominative and objective pronouns:

I hate it when language is in flux [. . .] because it’s easy to get confused. But a lot of people have asked me these questions, and in the end, I believe it’s best to know the traditional rules and then if you decide to break them you can do so knowingly and with conviction.

All languages are always in flux. All languages change over time. So called “traditional grammar” rules are merely one set (and not standardized set, mind you) of prescriptive usage strictures that, according to context and taste, can be applied to certain politcal, social, academic, and cultural situations.

Don’t be fooled by the usage-mavens, kids. Language is powerul, infinitely creative, and not confined easily to monlithic rules of “correct” and “incorrect”. Don’t allow others who think they maintain some special standard of language perfection make you feel ashamed about your English use.

October 23, 2007 | Filed Under Culture, Issues, Lang

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