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Is anyone else disappointed by declining standards in spoken English in Britain?

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Original post by Foo.mp3
innit doe. 'llow dat on da BBC fam :frown:

You don't see how the media can be both a social barometer and serve as to perpetuate/further malevolent trends e.g. self-centric, consumer-centric/materialist, nihilistic/gangster, slack 'culture'?


Foo, you are bare moist. Even your name real talk, duss from here asap..
Reply 61
Original post by The Lyceum
I'll bite. Firstly, Capisce. I'm pretty sure any intelligent person would object to the way you're "ruining" Italian there in the same manner you protest how the
"yoof" are bastardising "your" language.

That's another thing, "your language" the language is spoken by several million people, what gives you the right to arbitrate? On what criteria? solely on what you feel is correct? Your title already demonstrates your poor grasp of the tongue, your following posts serve only to reinforce this perception.

Yes, by you're own admission you're not a linguist, what then gives you the balls to be so damn sure? And why, by the Queen's hairy ball sack, do you honestly think being 27 when coming across as a self important pseudo-intellectual uninformed brat is a good thing?

Feel free to re-iterate your nonsense, strewn with poorly spelled Italicisms, misc speak like "Problem?" and ample use of the Borat emoticon once more. :rolleyes:

P.S: If I annoy you that much, feel free to write a letter about it. :colone:


dis is gettin repped
I literally could not give any less of a ****.
I ay gorra clue what yaw are on abowt loike.
Language constantly changes, grammar, words and spelling evolve - they come, they go/become obsolete in society. It is mainly due to the media, though, if you ask me, as well as the education system. The influence of the media that makes people think that slang is cool, and the laid-back attitudes of some teachers plays a significant part. I have plenty of tolerance for mistakes, we all make them, but what annoys me is that people are reverting to the American ways of spelling, 'Mom' is something that I constantly see now in writing - and it seriously irritates me! Basic grammar errors are also a peeve of mine. I appreciate my language teachers so much more now than what I did at school, because they basically taught us the English grammar that we had so little experience with in our English lessons. When I graduate and become a French teacher, I hope to continue this, because I am not expecting much change in the education system, even though it is a prominent feature in the news these days. I couldn't care less about accents though, 'received' pronunciation means nothing to me at all. In fact I love all the accents a lot, and we should keep them all, but we seriously need some improvements in grammar and language.
Reply 65
Original post by Foo.mp3
innit doe. 'llow dat on da BBC fam :frown:

You don't see how the media can be both a social barometer and serve as to perpetuate/further malevolent trends e.g. self-centric, consumer-centric/materialist, nihilistic/gangster, slack 'culture'?



There's a difference between promoting a dialect, and promoting the behaviours that are (rightly or wrongly) associated with the dialect.

I'm not really sure your point here.....

Just for the record, most of what is referred to as "jamaican patois" is actually quite different from what you hear in Jamaica. Try speaking that over there and you'll get a WTF look -
Reply 66
Original post by Foo.mp3
innit doe. 'llow dat on da BBC fam :frown:

You don't see how the media can be both a social barometer and serve as to perpetuate/further malevolent trends e.g. self-centric, consumer-centric/materialist, nihilistic/gangster, slack 'culture'?


What I'll say is, there is nothing wrong with speaking dialect, the problem occurs when it is used in the wrong PLACE, and when it is substituted for the English standard because of a lack of knowledge/expertise in the standard
I prefer to use alot of Scots words
There are a lot worse things in life than just how people speak. People like you are probably grumpy and complain about the most minor of things all their lives.
Maybe it's just the way our language is evolving (unfortunately). It's changed noticeably in the last couple of hundred years let alone a few hundred years since Shakespeare!
Reply 70
I only get annoyed when someone uses 'arks' instead of 'asks' :angry:
Reply 71
Original post by xXxiKillxXx
Foo, you are bare moist. Even your name real talk, duss from here asap..


hahaha!

someone get this guy a job presenting bbc news.

The day we see a bbc news presenter calling someone moist is the day we know we are truly vibrant and diverse. lol.
Reply 72
Original post by dgeorge
There's a difference between promoting a dialect, and promoting the behaviours that are (rightly or wrongly) associated with the dialect.

I'm not really sure your point here.....

Just for the record, most of what is referred to as "jamaican patois" is actually quite different from what you hear in Jamaica. Try speaking that over there and you'll get a WTF look -


what so the jamaicans are laughing at these morons too? epic.
Reply 73
:facepalm::centipe:
Reply 74
Original post by Foo.mp3
Quite possibly

For the upteenth time this issue does not merely concern speech that is not easily understood

Quote me where I've asserted that?

Yet another person seeking to ridicule/misrepresent the OP rather than deal with the bread and butter of the thread :rolleyes:


By claiming that there has been a decline in the standards of language, you suggest that there has been a high point of the language which is now on the wane. You use the term 'proper English'. What exactly is 'proper English'? I know that you really mean the correct pronunciation of words as you see it, but this is
where the argument of the change of language is a valid one. The correct pronunciation in today's society is not necessarily correct in terms of the past. I mentioned in my previous post the 'Great Vowel Shift' during the middle ages, just another change in our language and how it is spoken.

If you try and read Chaucer, its best to understand it by reading it out loud. Its recognisable as 'English' but far removed from what we recognise as English. This is not really any different to 'Evva' instead of 'evER', in my opinion.

Foo.mp3



You do yourself, and those who have invested in your education, a disservice by demonstrating poor quality argumentation by deviating as per the above



I don't believe that I do deviate. Your argument centres around the decline in standards of spoken English, no? By commenting on language change I aim to suggest that 'decline' is the wrong word to use. Language changes and evolves. There cannot be a decline in the langauge is, as a result of this evolution, there has never been a definitive version of our language.
Original post by The Lyceum
Dear OP,

Phonological differences occur, deal with. Secondly I'd be much more worried over syntax if I were you.

" Is anyone else disappointed by declining standards in spoken English in Britain?"

Really ought to be declining standard (note singular) of spoken English etc. (note genitive construction).

Your usage of the plural and a locative construction is the kind of colloquialism you apparently detest, no?

You're not a linguist, you're not the arbiter of the English tongue, you're a pretentious brat. Is your life so hollow you have nought else to worry over but how others speak?

Shocking.


I do love how OP avoided this
Reply 76
Original post by QI Elf
By claiming that there has been a decline in the standards of language, you suggest that there has been a high point of the language which is now on the wane. You use the term 'proper English'. What exactly is 'proper English'? I know that you really mean the correct pronunciation of words as you see it, but this is
where the argument of the change of language is a valid one. The correct pronunciation in today's society is not necessarily correct in terms of the past. I mentioned in my previous post the 'Great Vowel Shift' during the middle ages, just another change in our language and how it is spoken.

If you try and read Chaucer, its best to understand it by reading it out loud. Its recognisable as 'English' but far removed from what we recognise as English. This is not really any different to 'Evva' instead of 'evER', in my opinion.



I don't believe that I do deviate. Your argument centres around the decline in standards of spoken English, no? By commenting on language change I aim to suggest that 'decline' is the wrong word to use. Language changes and evolves. There cannot be a decline in the langauge is, as a result of this evolution, there has never been a definitive version of our language.


It's pretty obvious that to allow slang to creep into standardised english is actually a decline. I'd much rather use the vast vocabulary that has been bestowed upon us than "mandem" or "dench". People better not hide behind the black thing either. It's old now.
Original post by Bonged.
It's pretty obvious that to allow slang to creep into standardised english is actually a decline. I'd much rather use the vast vocabulary that has been bestowed upon us than "mandem" or "dench". People better not hide behind the black thing either. It's old now.
New words = a decline in vocabulary?

wut
Reply 78
Original post by whyumadtho
New words = a decline in vocabulary?

wut


yeh mayne. da peepz in da inna city have a vocab ov about 10 words innit. dey iz not cleva enuf to vocalise their thoughts in an erudite and concise manner.
Original post by Bonged.
It's pretty obvious that to allow slang to creep into standardised english is actually a decline. I'd much rather use the vast vocabulary that has been bestowed upon us than "mandem" or "dench". People better not hide behind the black thing either. It's old now.


Colloquialisms are a part of the language too, registers shift. "****" from a proto-Germanic root is much more acceptable in the Scandinavian languages, particularly Norwegian and would have been to our Saxon forebears too. Would you say that in polite conversation? Likewise "****" (the c-word if the filter cuts it) is perfectly fine (more or less) in Chaucer's time and indeed earlier would have been polite conversation. Well...to what extent lady-bits make polite conversation anyway!

Many words we use casually, even in semi-formal situations, originally had their roots in slang and vice versa.

I do agree that some words are horrid, but that's hardly the point. I mean I find "fart" a horrible word it has some of the best pedigree in the English language, besides such innocent words as "Father" and "Mother" etc.

Also I don't think I've ever heard either "Mandem" or "Dench". :colone: