Table of Contents
Definitions
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Why do people resist language change?
“The preposition is often separated from the Relative which it governs, and joined to the Verb at the end of the Sentence, or of some member of it…but the placing of the Preposition before the Relative is more graceful, as well as more perspicuous; and agrees much better with the solemn and elevated style.” -Robert Lowth, A Short Introduction to English Grammar
There has always
been a certain resistance to language change, especially among the educated,
who may regard any deviation from the standard as “unnecessary sloppiness,
laziness or ignorance” (Aitchison, 1991, p. 4). Aitchison goes on
to suggest that for modern speakers of English, linguistic conservatism
extends far beyond a mere “things-ain’t-what-they-used-to-be”
attitude. Rather, she argues, we are descendants of the 18th-century puristic
view that Latin is inherently superior, and as such we should rue any
further “decay” in our own language and try to make it as
close to Latin as possible.
Although the types of conventions designed for Netspeak are not grammatical in nature, it is still the same kind of prudishness that would shun creative spelling or arguably needless abbreviation.