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I remember hearing that the English language has so many unnecessary rules and complications because poorer people couldn't afford to understand all of them, and so only the elite could speak "proper" english |
English - especially the way we think of it as proper English - was heavily influenced by class divisions. This phenomenon is by no means unique to English, but the language’s path is particularly messy and layered due to how it evolved. Historically, English has always been a bit of a hodgepodge. First, you have the Old English spoken by the Anglo-Saxons, a Germanic language. Then, in 1066, the Norman conquest brought an influx of French influence. After a few centuries, you get this blend of Germanic and Latinate vocabulary, which already begins to split words into high and low categories. For instance, we got "ask" (Germanic) for commoners and "inquire" (Latinate) for the upper class, or "kingly" vs. "royal." This distinction is one of the earliest markers of how English started to stratify along class lines. In the 18th century, English was being standardized with grammar books and dictionaries. This was during a time when the educated elite were often looking down on the way commoners spoke, and it was common practice to design grammar rules based on Latin; a language that doesn’t share much with English structurally. Latin-inspired rules, like not splitting infinitives (e.g., “to boldly go” vs. “to go boldly”), were enforced not because English worked that way naturally, but because Latin did, and it sounded "refined" or "educated." English itself was never meant to follow these rules, but they became markers of "proper" speech. Then you have pronunciation standards, which got cemented with the advent of broadcast media and education systems that emphasized "standard" English. The British Received Pronunciation is a great example of an accent that was, for a long time, a hallmark of upper-class education and a key to social mobility in Britain. For people from poorer backgrounds, access to education was often limited, making it challenging to learn and master these proper forms. Therefore, in a way, the complex rules, elitist standards, and judgments over how to speak English often served as gatekeepers. Those who didn’t or couldn’t master these rules were socially marked as "lower class" or less educated, even though they were just using English in a way that was natural to them. On top of that, some of the complexity of English grammar and spelling is a historical accident. English spelling, for example, didn’t become standardized until the printing press came along in the 15th century, and even then, it was inconsistently enforced. So, while other languages underwent spelling reforms, English was left with a chaotic mix of influences, like silent letters and inconsistent rules, that has endured. TL;DR: you're right. |
^Let's know our place then. |
Government Government |
What did you think of my economy? |
Some Are interesting some are Boring. |
In linguistics We refer to the idea of there being a correct way to speak a language as “Prescriptivism” |
I don't remember Prθo being spelled with a t between the theta and o, but hey it's sometimes alternately spelled like “Prθto” in official documents, but what do you think about the flag of Θisθinar? |
Nah, I just forgot to check If I wrote it correctly. |
It's actually meant to be yellow lol, I'm surprised you haven't commented on the capital theta thats on the flag of Θisθinar |
a little bit of orange is inside the theta, |
Before that it was actually a more orangish yellow color, Also here's the distribution of Ridinian Languages: https://youtu.be/M_cgHBdatuw?si=SVAYfoJe8RYUbS5U (Western, Insular, & Peninsular are branches that went extinct, and Pelsaquin and Gátire are Eastern Ridinian while Gür & Fayrian are Central Ridinian) |
daily meme 15/20 |
The Картофельная Империя is back and this time I Made a poll. Do You like potatoes? And Also: |
Noice |
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It's difficult for me to tell apart from some of the colors. |
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Sorry that's a blunder on my part, but you can probably tell which branch is where, Peninsular is on Crimea as well as certain locations close to Crimea , Insular is on the random islands in the Baltic including Hiiumaa & Saaremaa, West sprinkled throughout the Benelux & British isles. |
No I just know a lot of stuff about linguistics |
Yes, that's true Btw I will ask you what you think of the Echemin [eχɛmin] language map, when I Fix the "Minor" inaccuracies on the map. |
The most degenerate person you've ever met here? |
I have a question for you, since y'know you own Hiiumaa & Saaremaa in universe what happened to the Insular Ridinian language of Jándzao (pronounced [jaːntsau̯]) which was spoken of Hiiumaa, considering you know, Jándzao went extinct in 1996. |
I often think about how class separation impacts our aspects of life, including our language. |
instead of preparing cakes and decorations for Halloween, prepare the defenses and guns for when Mariah Carey will defrost herself. |
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