Oxford needs to look up the word "slang."

[Burly Brute]

For the record, spellchecker doesn't work for the internet from where I post fromm.

Haha it doesn't for me either, I sometimes write my replies/threads in Microsoft Word before posting so that I don't give away that I am a complete moron. Honestly, I don't much care for our spell-check society today. I use to have a pretty big vocabulary and knew how to spell words, now it seems as though every other word is "like" and I constantly don't know how to spell words that just 3 years ago I would have known like the back of my hand.

Alas! What are we to do!

[Zardoz]

Good examples of how fluid the language can be, I always quote David Byrne in the brilliant movie "True Stories" when discussing stuff like this;
"You know, things that never had names before are now easily described. Makes conversation easier."

[Burly Brute]

Good examples of how fluid the language can be, I always quote David Byrne in the brilliant movie "True Stories" when discussing stuff like this;
"You know, things that never had names before are now easily described. Makes conversation easier."

But the difference is that these are new names for things not previously named! They are just weak "abbreviations" that don't have real purpose!

[rtc872]

To the best of my knowledge there are only two languages in the world which have a supervising body: French, and Hebrew.

Not to prove Fr Bill wrong but in fact English is one of the only large languages without a board or supervising body. I know that Dutch does and they are constantly making unwanted changes to the language. The most recent is that young people were saying google as a verb and the board said that it should be googelen which is the same word as "do magic", to the ancients it might seem like magic . Also the "g" was supposed to change from the English g to the Dutch guttural.

Scottish Gaelic also has Bord na Gaidhlig and Irish has Foras na Gaeilge. I am sure the welsh have one.

Here is a list of many.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Categor...age_regulators

My point is, that English is amazing that it doesn't have one but it is probably less changing than the other languages because a single body cannot decree that a change must be made. Words slip in and out of use but ultimately the grammar remains the same and as long as oldies are out there to tell us how it is done we'll get it right... eventually.

[Father Bill]

Excellent information! I was ill informed, and appreciate the "jog"

Not to prove Fr Bill wrong but in fact English is one of the only large languages without a board or supervising body. I know that Dutch does and they are constantly making unwanted changes to the language. The most recent is that young people were saying google as a verb and the board said that it should be googelen which is the same word as "do magic", to the ancients it might seem like magic . Also the "g" was supposed to change from the English g to the Dutch guttural.

Scottish Gaelic also has Bord na Gaidhlig and Irish has Foras na Gaeilge. I am sure the welsh have one.

Here is a list of many.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Categor...age_regulators

My point is, that English is amazing that it doesn't have one but it is probably less changing than the other languages because a single body cannot decree that a change must be made. Words slip in and out of use but ultimately the grammar remains the same and as long as oldies are out there to tell us how it is done we'll get it right... eventually.

[rtc872]

double post

[rtc872]

My pleasure

[Santa Wally]

Rather than our language evolving and gaining new words for new concepts, ideas, inventions, we are simply allowing for misspellings and laziness! Haha. We live in an age full of educators and spell-checkers; there is no real need to accept misspellings to mean the same exact thing as the word in which they are attempted to be. I agree with you guys language is ever evolving and adapting, but seriously, “buttload” ??? I mean, c’mon! lol

The laziness and misspellings is something "up with which we should NOT put." (said tongue in cheek) DUH!