Am I just being a language snob?

[PiP]

Language starts with how we communicate as parents when children are first learning to speak. It drives me mad when I hear my son teaching his two year old to say 'Ta' instead of 'thank you'. I am informed ... He can't say say thank you. My reply: he never will unless you teach him.

[TheMightyAz]

Language starts with how we communicate as parents when children are first learning to speak. It drives me mad when I hear my son teaching his two year old to say 'Ta' instead of 'thank you'. I am informed ... He can't say say thank you. My reply: he never will unless you teach him.

I used to get annoyed when people used terms like 'choo-choo train' or 'dicky bird'. Why not just train and bird? It's linguistic bubble wrap, designed to protect their children from the harsh definitions of life. Keep it fluffy and those nasty sharp edges won't bite. Yeah ... right.

[PiP]

And pussy cat... and I flatly refused to be called Nanna or Nanny. I am not a goat (although my starsign says otherwise)

[Foxee]

Oh dese words are so fire!

Ppl don't word right. Mood.

I'ma prolly get more cawfee.

[TheMightyAz]

And pussy cat... and I flatly refused to be called Nanna or Nanny. I am not a goat (although my starsign says otherwise)

Ah, so you're a Nanny. Noted for future annoyance.

[Gofa]

slang to me is more visceral communication than standard prose
attention to SPAG works against the evolution of language
and careful with the world view being only yours
my case in point
I did not see a dicky bird has nothing to do with bird watching where i come from

one other thing that promotes a PS from me
my teaching as a child had the full stop used to end a sentence.

or if you started another line with a capital, the prior sentence did not need / require a full stop
just cause we were taught this way does not mean others respect your point of view

as for me I write much of my time on an ipad in the middle of the night
capitalisation is a pain because in holding the ipad above me lateral movement to the shift key is uncomfortable

back to the poem that started this
i thought the use of poor language gave a greater impact
remember Billy Idol had a PHd
he just sounded ignorant for effect

[thepancreas11]

Writing is an expression of self. It is a communication between the author or poet and the reader. As readers are diverse, so must authors be. Engaging with voices disparate from our own is necessary. I just commented to this effect on a thread about how and what we should read. I believe the more different kinds of books I read, the more different authors from different places and different lifestyles I encounter, the better I am as a person and as a writer. While the grammar here does not represent the structure I speak with, I understand its meaning and more importantly, I value that it is grammar--not incorrect but different. This is how language changes. Lexicographers will be the first to tell you that words are only what we mean them to be, and they are subject to our whims. We change them all the time. This is no different to me than the fact that in the UK they put a "u" in "flavour". I can read that word well enough, though it is not my word.

Conversations like this always remind me of the split infinitive argument or the idea that you cannot end a sentence with a preposition in English. These were rules invented by linguists; they are not inherent to English or even natural, necessarily. They were an attempt to make this language more like Latin. "To boldly go" is as acceptable to me as "to go boldly" because they are my words and I can do with them as I please. As long as my words effectively communicate my meaning, they are correct.

[Foxee]

As long as my words effectively communicate my meaning, they are correct.

Yes and no.

"I have got to be me." Correct for English class and other places where projecting education is more important than cutting-edge expression.

"I've Gotta Be Me" Correct for Tony Bennet

"I Gotta Be Me" Correct for Sammy Davis Jr.

Sammy Davis Jr. would have been corrected in English class.

English teachers probably don't make as much money as Sammy Davis Jr. did.

Tony Bennet split the difference and nobody blamed him.

Who is right? Horses for courses.

[druid12000]

I am glad I asked the question. Snob or not I learned from you nice folks and I am grateful.

One of the reasons for the post came from the thought 'Where is the written language heading?'. I don't know, but it will be interesting to see