Sloppy Seconds

[Oneeyedvic]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11420737

Do you think that the English language should evolve with slang terms, or do you think Emma Thompson is correct?

[Oneeyedvic]

///She said: "There is the necessity to have two languages - one that you use with your mates and the other that you need in any official capacity. Or you're going to sound like a knob."///

Classic!

[ummmm]

I liked that bit.

I won't allow my children to speak the 'yuff' speak in front of me. They do sound like knobs.

[gingejbee]

I think she made her point perfectly in that quote, innit?

[gingejbee]

Oh, forgot. Should have ended that sentence with "and stuff".

[jake-the-peg]

And exactly where does she think the language she uses came from?

Does she think that someone went up a mountain 150 years ago and came down with a book inscribed "Proper English"?

I wonder if she uses words like OK?

Or maybe slang only counts as proper English if it manages to survive 50 years or so.

[ummmm]

Jake...I think you know what she means. Kids trying to talk like 'Am I bovvered' Lauren.

[Sqad]

I agree with JTP.........the function of a language to me, is to facilitate understanding and if one uses obscure words only understood by a few then the function of language has failed.

I do appreciate that language means more than just communication.

[McMouse]

Whatever........

[andy-hughes]

I think most of us use more than just two adaptations of our basic speech.

The way i converse with my coleagues is different from the way I talk to my wife, which is different from the way I talk to my children ... and so on.

I think the point is valid/

I have pointed out to all my girls as they have gone through to maturity that one of the hallmarks of a mature individual is the ability to tailor your speech patterns to your company - which can help in some situations - example -

a colleague of mine, now retired, was in the merchant navy during the war, escorting Russion convoys. As you can immagine, in those circumstances, language between sailors could be a little 'salty' at times.

When he came to visit his girlfriend's (now wife, so obviously the parents let this go!) parents for Sunday lunch for the first time, he was understandably nervious.

So much so, that in a moment of panic, he forgot where he was, and enquired of his potential mother-in-law if she could "Pass the fu*k*ng butter ..."

Like I say - matching language to surroundings is a big help in getting on in life!

[Haggisdj]

I work in an local government IT department. We have apprentices, one in particular, who work on our help desk, so for a lot of people they are the first point of contact with our department. Their English is atrocious, it's all "is it", "innit", etc.. They have been warned on several occasions and I do think that the will be on their way out soon. My thought is, if they were the pick of the applicants, what were the rest like?

[missnemesis]

I think it's probably true of all of us that we have different terminology, diction etc depending on to whom we are speaking.

[ummmm]

It's the ghetto boy accent they put on that bothers me...

[Ankou]

mirroring language is fine if it is a means to communicate on an even level. but as far as the english language goes i see this as continually evolving. most people who bemoan the movement of language from colloquial to proper and then back again, really have no idea of linguistics, and presume that they always talk in the only correct manner.

this is rarely the case.

[ludwig]

She's not really talking about language evolving. Language always has and will evolve whether anyone likes it or not.

She's talking about being articulate, which means expressing yourself clearly and appropriately for your audience. e.g if you turn up at an interview and go 'Yeah, like I was chillin wiv my homies and I fort, yeah you know, Brain surgery, yeah, that sounds pretty cool, so here I am and all that, you know what I'm saying?.".
You are indeed going to sound like a knob. Just like if you turn up for the same interview in inappropriate clothes you're going to look like a knob.

[saxy_jag]

Haggis, I do worry about the standard of English of many of today's school, college and even university leavers.

I believe the GCSE English syllabus still includes the use of writing/language for different purposes, but it doesn't seem evident when you speak to some of them.

I can speak and write very good, understandable English when I need to. I can also lapse into a very common, Leicester accent when I feel like it, dropped 'h's, dropped 't's and all the lot, with a liberal sprinkling of expletives to boot, and I can use anything between the two. But if my much despised grammar school taught me anything at all, it's how to use what's appropriate in a given situation.

What really irks me is having to work for an officer manager whose written English is atrocious, and yet grumbles at me for using the mildest of expletives in non-work conversation.

[jno]

I think she's talking about more than just slang. She's an actress, so I guess she rates the importance of being able to speak clearly and persuasively rather than muttering in terms designed to exclude potential listeners. She does distinguish between the two registers, the one you use with the friends and the one you need to communicate with the rest of the world, and suggesting that some kids are neglecting the second. That sounds plausible enough to me.

[anotheoldgit]

I think our culture has been high jacked enough without the slow infiltration of other languages, changing our English beyond recognition.

If this is allowed to take place, we will all be talking pidgin in a few decades time.

[jno]

we'll all be waking up and smelling the coffee, aog.

[anotheoldgit]

Well done jno, I knew you wouldn't miss that.

See you now.

[boxtops]

Most people use different terminology in different situations - and in written work, I would hope to use more structured language!