Posted by Peter R on December 04, 2002 at 17:50:46 from 62.64.239.116 user badboy.
In Reply to: Re: The evolution of language; was Re: Semaphore - needs practice posted by Duncan on December 04, 2002 at 16:50:21:
Duncan; I'm pleased you don't agree, what a depressing world it would be if people agreed with each other!
Of course history and language are affected - driven even - by the people, but not necessarily with their cognisant intervention, people talk and write instinctively. I don't agree that social movements, classes or civilizations have a direct and traceable effect on language.
I glad you brought up Tom Payne, he's a 'local hero', I live barely six miles from Thetford where, as you probabnly know he was born and before he was terrorised into 'crossing, the pond. lived. There's a terriific statue of him in Theford's town square.
But I digress. Of course he couldn't help writing the books he did anymore than any of us can avoid our destiny, and I'm not talking about religous destiny but the type of destiny that's effected by whether we turn left or right at a junction, whether that be life's or on the road.
I cannot agree that history has a course. A boat has a course because somebody consciously plots it. But history is the future from where we stand at any given moment, one millesecond later, or less, if there is less, it's a record.