this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2023
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[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Literally^1^ no one is harmed

^1^and I do mean literally, in the classical sense

[–] FMT99 61 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You just had to footnote your one line comment because of language erosion. Take that as you will.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (4 children)

You just ~~had~~ chose to footnote your one line comment because of ~~language erosion~~ writer's autonomy

Nice try. Fun fact: Language prescriptivism is at best classist, at worst white nationalist behavior. Take that as you will, and have fun on my blocklist.

[–] FMT99 43 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Wow that's quite the abrasive response to an off the cuff remark. Have a nice life.

Still it will be hard to break to my mixed race kids that their dad is a secret white nationalist.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago

Descriptivism is a vestige of pre-industrial society. Prescriptivism is a necessity of universal literacy. Language evolves over time, and one of the ways in which it evolves is how it evolves. Also, if you believe in linguistic descriptivism, you are also required to believe in a descriptivist system of weights and measures, or vice versa, or you're a hypocrite. Thank you for attending my TED talk, I am not taking questions.

[–] Feathercrown 8 points 1 year ago
[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

People hate when you say this but you're right, prescriptivism is a fucking disgusting practice and anyone who supports it needs to take a long hard look at the rest of their opinions and why they hold them.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Yes, as you know it has been historically used to exclude and marginalize groups of people, and it still is!

[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Rules in languages serve the same purpose as standards in engineering. Sure, you don’t have to follow them. And if you want your home’s piping to use 81/13 inch diameters, knock yourself out. But it’s a pain for everyone who will ever be involved with that mess. And a lot of people are involved in your choice of words and grammar.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (3 children)

You're really comparing language to engineering

STEM brainrot take

[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 year ago (1 children)

STEM brainrot take

Gotta love a civil discussion.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I was able to clearly understand your message even though you defied prescriptive conventions by using "gotta"

Gotta love how language evolves. I'm going to fuck up so many conventions today, just you wait and see!

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

THEM: don't make language less expressive

YOU: wow you just used a thing that makes language more expressive CHECKMATE

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

dis opinion bussin blud fr fr ong

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago
[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago

When it comes to grammar and syntax it makes sense though. Common rules help us understand each other.

Except that we're talking about individual words here. It's not as if we're saying verbs are over now or that all sentences have to be all "Shaka, when the walls fell" or something.

You could have made that point without being rude towards the entirety of the STEM community, but chose not to.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

You're in a discussion about language but unable to navigate analogy? Or even just be civil and engage in a respectful manner? Maybe sit this one out.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

They don't though, because my sentence doesn't collapse and kill several dozen people if I don't use the oxford comma

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago

you're literally making their point for them by (deliberately) misinterpreting what they meant by "harm" in a way that wouldn't be possible if the language was more expressive

[–] Zehzin 8 points 1 year ago

Not if I cause them harm.