[TheForge] PC-ness Grammatical Pet Peeve Rant - Way OT

[Ron Childers]

Without some standards we could all make up our own language and only those
within our immediate circle could understand us. Didn't you read about the
Tower of Babble from whence came that word? Consider "Ebonics"; it was not
even a word in the '40's. That concept implies we can just rattle off any
kind of gibberish and that it should be accepted. 

We do, however, sacrifice sentence structure for the sake of brevity as in:

Btw, Dave, how about "welder" and "weldor"?

Ron C  

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Peter Fels And Phoebe
Palmer
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 2:09 AM
To: Sponsored by ABANA
Subject: Re: [TheForge] PC-ness Grammatical Pet Peeve Rant - Way OT

Great quote Jeffrey;
This whole discussion smacks of English majors though... it makes 
me nervous...pf


Jeffrey Polaski wrote:
> I'm not sure who wrote this, but it applies:
> 
> "The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that
> English is as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words;
> on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways, beat
> them
> unconscious and rifled their pockets."
> 
> 
> 
> Jeff Polaski
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
> [mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Garrick Peterson
> Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2007 5:01 PM
> To: Sponsored by ABANA
> Subject: Re: [TheForge] PC-ness Grammatical Pet Peeve Rant - Way OT
> 
> To be equally pedantic:
> 
> Main Entry: 1sex
> Pronunciation: 'seks
> Function: noun
> Etymology: Middle English, from Latin sexus
> 1 : either of the two major forms of individuals that occur in many
> species and that are distinguished respectively as female or male
> especially on the basis of their reproductive organs and structures
> 2 : the sum of the structural, functional, and behavioral
> characteristics of organisms that are involved in reproduction marked
> by the union of gametes and that distinguish males and females
> 3 a : sexually motivated phenomena or behavior b : SEXUAL INTERCOURSE
> 4 : GENITALIA
> 
> Of interest is 4b.
> 
> Main Entry: 1gen*der
> Pronunciation: 'jen-d&r
> Function: noun
> Etymology: Middle English gendre, from Anglo-French genre, gendre,
> from Latin gener-, genus birth, race, kind, gender -- more at KIN
> 1 a : a subclass within a grammatical class (as noun, pronoun,
> adjective, or verb) of a language that is partly arbitrary but also
> partly based on distinguishable characteristics (as shape, social
> rank, manner of existence, or sex) and that determines agreement with
> and selection of other words or grammatical forms b : membership of a
> word or a grammatical form in such a subclass c : an inflectional form
> showing membership in such a subclass
> 2 a : SEX <the feminine gender> b : the behavioral, cultural, or
> psychological traits typically associated with one sex
> 
> Of interest - 2a
> 
> English, as a living language, is constantly evolving and changing.
> "Sex", regardless of it's origins, is now taken to mean intercourse,
> in addition to it's original definitions. "Gender", again regardless
> of it's origins, now also means sex.
> 
> ~G
> 
> ref: http://www.webster.com/dictionary/
> 
> 
> On 5/29/07, Dan Tull <dantull at numail.org> wrote:
>> It's getting so we just can't believe Bruce anymore.
> _______________________________________________
> Manage membership or unsubscribe at:
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
> theforge mail list group photo site is
> http://www.photoaccess.com
> Login:  blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
> password:  anvil
> ___________
> 
> 
> 
_______________________________________________
Manage membership or unsubscribe at:
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
theforge mail list group photo site is
http://www.photoaccess.com
Login:  blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
password:  anvil
___________