The Scrivener: A Dying Art
Brian Barratt, an artist in words, is shocked by poor language and bad grammar used via today’s modern means of communication.
English is a living language but communication seems to be a dying art, concludes Brian.
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English is a living language, changing from century to century, generation to generation, almost day to day. Special forms are developed, according to need. Most of us might be forgiven for not understanding language such as this, which is frequently found on computer websites (Web sites):
The renewed notice-and-choice framework being rolled out for behavioral advertising has an important shortcoming: Opt-out cookies only serve to turn off the delivery of behaviorally targeted ads, they don’t promise to turn off data collection in the first place.
It's about cookies. It is meant to be read and understood by computer experts rather than by ordinary people, many of whom thought that cookies came from a kitchen.
Reports and comments on sporting events can come into the same category — they don't make sense unless you are an expert or at least familiar with the game, the match, the teams and the individual players. Real names have been deleted from this extract:
[names deleted], like the title says its just like that, 10 teams in the league and one stands out front on its own, in a different league, cant tell me that there under the $810,000 salary cap, it is bullshit, league needs to have ballance, and just as i predicted the league is being completely redrawn next season and i needs it though this season is going to be very ugly,
[name deleted] 700th game in charge last night and boy did it look bad, both teams gave about 80 percent and as perdicted,
[name deleted] with his famous turnovers, and if it wasn't turning the ball over it was 3 pointers with a hand in his face,
This might not be an official report. It could be an entry in a blog, a Web log, where anyone can make comments. Through informal search over the past few weeks, for examples of the use of English on different kinds of websites, I have found that sports reports on official newspaper and television websites are written much more clearly and accurately. On the other hand, reading comments in Facebook can be akin to listening to teenagers talking to each other even though the comments are probably written by adult men and women:
carlton suck!!!!
thats about as true as a rhinosorus is gonna jump out from underneath the coutch and fuck me
Fucking twice this has happened just trying to have sum fun geez
Go brisbane lion they fuck the other teams up ;)
Hoo do u barrok for coz whoever it is their terrible
Vulgar language can turn up in surprising places. I found these interesting phrases and words in the blogs of a Christian website devoted to churches and church affairs — fuck a pig; why the fuck; fucktard; asshat; asshole; arsebiscuits; holy shit; shithouse rat; gobshite.
Obviously football fans are not the only people who have difficulty expressing themselves in clear English without resorting to obscenity. English is a living language but communication seems to be a dying art.
© Copyright Brian Barratt 2011
