Posted by Ed Kiser on August 11, 2008 at 16:54:15 user Kisered.
In Reply to: Re: Bad Spelling posted by Peter Ceresole on August 11, 2008 at 08:12:18:
Language, Over Time
Two thousand years ago, the generally accepted common language of the peoples of Europe and the Mediterranean areas was that of Latin. The legal word was written in that language. The language of the court, of government bodies, of officialdom, was essentially Latin, as Rome was the “powers that be.” The several cultures under Roman rule of course had their own special languages, but understood that to do business, it was to be done in Latin, so they learned it and made it their second language. It was good business.
In time, these several areas of Latin speaking peoples found that in their language usage, they were really using some sort of composite with some local dialect words being used side by side with the more widely understood Latin component.
Formal education was not common, but seemed to be in the hands of a select few, primarily that of the clergy. It is that core of education that kept Latin alive in its usage in the church, in its religious applications. Among the uneducated, which just about included everybody else, certain officially incorrect usages, by not knowing any better, found that certain variations began to be accepted as normal.
In the various locations with their local dialects, the language that was Latin evolved and eventually became even more unique for that area, giving us today the Latin based languages of Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French. This separation of local usages had evolved to where these separate versions were identified as separate distinct languages, but still today with some similarity, based upon the common ancestor of Latin, which itself, except for certain monastic situations, became a “dead” language.
English, whatever flavor one may consider, is itself an adaptation of the merging of primarily two languages, that of the Anglo-Saxon (fundamentally a Teutonic/German based speech) and that flavor brought with William of Normandy in 1066, with his brand of French as it was spoken in that day, but even that was a composite of the French the original peoples of that land spoke merged with the Scandinavian of the Vikings as they moved up the rivers in France and settled during the several generations before 1066. Perhaps it is here we can understand why “Thursday” is named after the Norse god, Thor.
It takes a while for the Anglo-Saxon speakers and the newly arrived Normans to pick up from each other the words, expressions, and even certain customs of grammatical usage, but that blending became English, but hardly the English that is spoken anywhere today.
We see the writings of Chaucer, reflecting the dialect used in the late 1300’s, and find it rather difficult to feel “at home” with his way of using the language. But it is that early mixing of German/French that he used. In the simple phrase from Chaucer: “Maken melodye” we see the merging of these two parent languages.
Several hundred years later, we read the writings of Shakespeare, and find that to be much more understandable, yet quaint to an extent that we must wonder, “surely people didn’t actually TALK that way…” but they probably did somewhat like that.
The language of the early American colonies was that of Elizabethan English, that strangely enough, up until about 50 years ago, was considered to be very similar to the speech still in use in certain areas of the USA, where the people by the nature of the geography, found themselves somewhat isolated and not exposed to newer language variations, thus keeping somewhat intact the English speech of Colonial times. These areas were identified as the “Outer Banks” of the North Carolina coast line, and what is sometimes called “hillbilly” language as used way back in the less accessible areas of the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina and Virginia. But as these areas became exposed to better roads, and especially to that great Common Denomination of language known as Radio/TV, the old Elizabethan Colonial dialects faded and became replaced by the more commonly accepted American English.
Then we find that even the Colonial English began its enrichment as it picked up words from the local original inhabitants, that being the American Indians, giving us words like “Tomahawk” and “Moccasin.” Even the names of certain States in the USA are Indian words, such as for example, Nebraska , meaning “flat water.”
The concept of “American English” as being One Thing, is hardly true, as it seems that the many areas of this large land, each being influenced by immigration from non-English speakers, becoming quite diverse in flavor. One may find some amusement at observing someone from Southern Alabama conversing with someone from Brooklyn in New York City as both claim to be using American English, yet somehow that has become so separated as to be rather awkward for one to comprehend the other.
In a similar way, the British English is not really a universally common mode of speech throughout all of Great Britain, as surely one that is familiar with the areas can readily identify one from East End of London, from Norfolk, from Coniston, from Cardiff, and almost any other area of GB. There are those flavors, those dialects, those local touches that make for the enrichment of any language.
Language is not a static item, but is alive, with new concepts needing new “buzz-words” to describe the growing technologies. As travel becomes easier over great distances, we have those mixing of peoples from widely diverse lands, coming together, trying to understand each other.
In the South Florida areas, where there seems to be a major influx of Cubans, the resulting speech is sometimes referred to as Spanglish. To the local Gringos (those speaking only English) it is rather upsetting to be told that one cannot get an entry level job operating the cash register at any MacDonald’s hamburger joint in the area unless they are multi-lingual, proficient in both Spanish and English, as that is what is needed to speak with the customers.
Perhaps it will become with English that which happened to Latin, in that what was rather commonly accepted began to evolve in unique ways that are local, and thus come up with their own local dialect, and eventually with their own separate language. But on the other hand, there is an influence present today that was not felt back in the days of Latin being dominant, and that is the concept of satellite communications. With this, people all over the world can get TV news. This can become the Common Denominator of the English language, as those who want to speak English as a second language listen to news casters on TV and try to speak as they hear it done there. The Standard for Second Language speakers of English seems to have become Walter Cronkite, and his successors of broadcasters. “I heard it that way on TV” becomes the standard of grammar, of word meanings, of the language itself in widely diverse areas of the world.
Perhaps it is via this great communications melting pot of international broadcasting of TV (and more modern, the growing accessibility of the Internet) that will serve to define just what is the right way of doing English. But even there, the language will become as it is used, and that is a constantly evolving, growing concept. What might have been shocking usage some time ago could become quite acceptable today. And perhaps, what we find acceptable today, could become shocking in the future.
In 1939, the movie, “Gone With The Wind,” had the Rhett Butler character saying, “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.” Oh my, the hands went fluttering at such shocking usage of that little four letter word. Even though such is still officially considered “a bad word” it becomes rather common in its usage, to where one hardly pays any attention when hearing it – or when using it.
In a reverse change of standards, what was acceptable has become shocking, as we consider just how common was the usage of the now infamous “N-word” back in the days of 1850 in the USA, whereas today, one can get in difficulties if one tosses such into the conversation. It is this change of the definition of “bad word” that causes certain works of what were considered to be great literature such as the writings of the American author, Mark Twain, and his Tom Sawyer tales, to be BANNED from high school libraries as using offensive language. It could even apply to the beloved works of Arthur Ransome because of that same word, now unacceptable.
Rules change over time. We continue to grow in our understandings, and change with them. After all, the purpose of language is not just communication, but mutual understandings of peoples from diverse cultures and backgrounds. It is difficult sometimes to consider some rule that used to be so cast in concrete, so firm and absolute, that with modern common usages shifting, such a rule might have to be discarded.
So what is the OFFICIALLY correct English standard? Answering that could start major international consternation and indignation. But perhaps, it might be suggested, the answer comes with the turning on of the evening news from CNN.
Ed Kiser, raised in North Carolina, then lived in Florida for 31 years, now retired in the BlueGrass horse country of Kentucky.