Learning english grammar

Rathe · Post by **Rathe** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 8:08 pm

On the purity and proper grammer of the English language. A quote of which I've always enjoyed:

"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary."
- James D. Nicoll

Lago PARANOIA · Post by **Lago PARANOIA** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 4:37 am

I've always been curious as to where the meme of children (specifically American children) becoming less literate and learned over time comes from; it's always seemed prevalent, but it's been really kicking into high gear the last couple of decades. Which seems odd, since like I pointed out in another thread SAT scores continually increase and the difficulty of the test gets higher over time. And college attendance is at an all-time high.

Lago PARANOIA · Post by **Lago PARANOIA** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 4:40 am

I've always been curious as to where the meme of children (specifically American children) becoming less literate and learned over time comes from; it's always seemed prevalent, but it's been really kicking into high gear the last couple of decades. Which seems odd, since like I pointed out in another thread SAT scores continually increase and the difficulty of the test gets higher over time. And college attendance is at an all-time high.

Crissa · Post by **Crissa** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 9:18 am

Because what is learned changes over time. More people attend school and learn to read than ever; but of those people, less and less learn of History and Politics and such things of their world beyond their personal sphere.

-Crissa

The Vigilante · Post by **The Vigilante** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 11:15 pm

Nah. I'm pretty sure it's just asshole baby-boomers that think they are the greatest generation ever.

Crissa · Post by **Crissa** » Thu Feb 18, 2010 7:12 am

Well, I'd say that, too. Except I can find these exact screeds happening repeatedly over the last hundred-odd years, and probably older if you really dug.

Do you think the Osiris worshippers were really happy with the next generation choosing to anoint themselves gods? Honestly, this sort of disrespect for the ages has always been with society.

-Crissa

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Fri Feb 19, 2010 8:54 am

Assyrian Tablet, ~2800 BCE wrote:The Earth is degenerating today.
Bribery and corruption abound.
Children no longer obey their parents,
every man wants to write a book, and
it is evident that the end of the world is fast approaching.

-Username17

The Vigilante · Post by **The Vigilante** » Fri Feb 19, 2010 6:07 pm

I'd like a source for that please, since I have heard almost the exact same thing being attributed to Socrates, or some other ancient greek philosopher...

Crissa · Post by **Crissa** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 7:44 pm

Well, being as the younger generation killed him, he sure had reason to say that.

-Crissa

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 8:17 pm

It's funny how many people truly believe that issues with todays society mark some new level of degradation.

I frequently have political talks with a friend of mine, and he makes a lot of these assumptions. He seriously thinks that the world was better way back when, and new and improved ways of doing things are causing all of the world's woes.

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Wed Feb 24, 2010 11:12 pm

If we didn't have the constant assumption that the problems facing this generation are new and worser, then how could we have all the political doomsday scenarios and the end of the country/world/whatever as we know it?

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Thu Feb 25, 2010 1:07 pm

I wonder if this stems from people thinking they were better kids than what they really were.

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Fri Feb 26, 2010 5:21 am

Yeah. There's probably a little truth in that...

I seriously look at the crap my sister (10 years younger) put up with in high school and wonder how she made it through. I mean, she had "friends" who would go out drinking and leave each other lying on the floor of a grocery store if they passed out from alcohol poisoning because they didn't want to get caught.

My group of friends never did that sort of thing, so I look at that scenario with some shock. But my friends and I did other stuff...

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Fri Feb 26, 2010 9:47 am

Maj wrote:My group of friends never did that sort of thing, so I look at that scenario with some shock. But my friends and I did other stuff...

I celebrated this New Year at a friend's apartment. Her 12 year old son told me, "This year, Mom will allow me to drink [a shot glass of champagne]!" I lol'd and replied, "When I was twelve, I had already quit."

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Tue Mar 02, 2010 3:47 am

Starmaker wrote:I celebrated this New Year at a friend's apartment. Her 12 year old son told me, "This year, Mom will allow me to drink [a shot glass of champagne]!" I lol'd and replied, "When I was twelve, I had already quit."

I never really got into alcohol. My mom didn't keep us from having it - we used to have formal dinners once a week where everyone drank wine (even the eight year olds), and my step-dad drank a lot of beer (he did switch to non-alcoholic for a while because my little brother really liked beer and getting an infant drunk is a bad idea) - I still keep a decent stash in the house mostly for cooking. I like to try it, and I like a lot of it for the taste, but I hate looking stupid, so I've never really gotten ragingly drunk.

I've also had a few run-ins with people who have been frighteningly drunk, and I just never really wanted to go there.