More dire predictions about the fate of English. (This time from the same guys who brought you the Dow Jones.) The verdict? "The Internets are to blame."

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As the Internet becomes more prevalent, leetspeak, including acronyms that used to appear only in text messages like "LOL" for laughing out loud, is finding a voice.

"I pone you, you're going down dude, lawl!" is how Johnathan Wendel says he likes to taunt opponents in person at online gaming tournaments. Pone is how he pronounces "pwn," and lawl is how "LOL" usually sounds when spoken. Mr. Wendel, 26 years old, has earned more than $500,000 in recent years by winning championships in Internet games like Quake 3 and Alien vs. Predator 2. His screen name is Fatal1ty.

"Right! We'll be arrested them next."

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The words' growing offline popularity has stoked the ire of linguists, parents and others who denounce them as part of a broader debasement of the English language.

Looks like someone else doesn't understand what linguists do.

Yay for Katherine Blashki, who decided to research it rather than be scared by it.

Lots of people do get all worked up about Internet language, or whatever it's called, don't they?

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One problem with speaking in such code: there is little agreement on pronunciation.

Obviously this author hasn't been to OEDILF, or even Wordcraft. Pronunciation is hardly an agreeable subject.

There seems to be a hermit with a sign ("The End is Near")for every technological advance. The reports (circa 1980's) of the demise of books, e.g.-- greatly exaggerated. Instead they merely provide fodder for blogs and fora!

"The French don't care what they do, actually, as long as they pronounce it properly." ~~~ Professor Higgins, "My Fair Lady.

More on this very subject by Mark Liberman of Language Log.

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Originally posted by jerry thomas:
"The French don't care what they do, actually, as long as they pronounce it properly." ~~~ Professor Higgins, "My Fair Lady.

For those who read French, there's an interesting discussion here in a Le Monde blog entry from a few months ago. Today's spoken French is discussed in some detail: many grammatical details unnecessary to precise communication are typically dropped. Another writer however, reminds us that historically, language evolves slowly. Montaigne considered Latin his "mother tongue", and it wasn't until the 16th century that the French language began to be viewed as an appropriate vehicle for the culture.

Another writer however, reminds us that historically, language evolves slowly. Montaigne considered Latin his "mother tongue", and it wasn't until the 16th century that the French language began to be viewed as an appropriate vehicle for the culture.

The rate of language change is variable and not constant. (Cf. the rate of change between 900 and 1100 CE in the development of Old into Middle English, as opposed to the relative stability of the language from the 16th century down to our own.) That French is a modern version, or descendant, of Latin is common knowledge, but I don't think Montaigne thought Latin to be his mother tongue, because 16th century French was more Latin than French. In fact the difference between Latin and Montaigne's French is much greater than between Montaigne's French and a modern Francophone. It is interesting, that du Bellay (and the associated Pleiade group) still felt anxious about the imperfect qualities of French in their day. And, that it basically took a short period of enrichment and codifying to turn that imperfect French into what it is today. Curious that this social engineering was seen as good and necessary, but once the rules were set, the tolerance from diversity and change is discarded.

This period, after printing and during the reformation, was one of great change socially and linguistically. Dante had in a sense paved the way for the acceptance of the vulgar tongues of Europe at the beginning of the 14th century with his De vulgari eloquentia, defending the use of Italian in writing serious works, and determining which dialect would win the right to be the standard (not surprisingly his own Tuscan dialect won out).

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but I don't think Montaigne thought Latin to be his mother tongue

The second sentence in my undergrad copy of Essays says "He was brought up to speak Latin as his mother tongue..." but doesn't elaborate. I had always interpreted that to mean his parents or tutors raised him, ben Yehuda-style, to speak Latin.

"He was brought up to speak Latin as his mother tongue..."

Yes, that's probably what he meant. I find it hard to believe that he didn't hear the local French being spoken by the servants et al. though.

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There seems to be a hermit with a sign ("The End is Near")for every technological advance. The reports (circa 1980's) of the demise of books, e.g.-- greatly exaggerated. Instead they merely provide fodder for blogs and fora!

Yup. I put this all in the category in my brain titled "kids these days, who can understand them?" It is just the next generation looking for new ways to express themselves. Literature is still literature, books are still read, and melodies can still be found in music. Life changes, people change, the world goes 'round.