Sunday, November 17, 2013

Change? Change.



In todays ever-changing world it is imperative that linguistic rules be altered to remain culturally relevant. 

Change is "not always a bad thing". Punctuation, like culture, has changed over time (Hitchings). It is human nature to experiment with his/her boundaries. People have suggested various punctuation marks that they believe would be beneficial to the language, but as these suggestions (pilcrow and hedera) have been tested they either remain with the language or gradually disappear. As today’s society moves towards a greater emphasis on expressing oneself, the rules of punctuation hinder this "possibility" (Dickinson). Each mark of punctuation carries much weight, and so it should be used with caution. When people use punctuation marks according to convention, a meaning -the author did not intend- could be conveyed (Thomas). If people were to be given the liberty to use punctuation marks more liberally, then people would have the ability to delve deeper into their own thoughts and convey their message more precisely. In addition, there is greater emphasis on conveying ones message concisely.  The number of people who use Twitter to convey their message is growing rapidly. People who are able to phrase their words succintly are called “poets” according to Cosco (Cosco).  The limitation on the number of characters has allowed people to experiment with new ways of using punctuation. The language we speak has changed before, and now we are witnessing another revolution. As technology advances and society adapts, language in itself will inexorably change. Both grammar and punctuation will have to keep pace with this evolution. Soon words like "gr8", much to the chagrin of the purists, will become mainstream (Hitchings). The rules of punctuation are- and should- change to fit societies cultural norms.

2 comments:

  1. I completely agree: language will inevitably change as society changes. And while some words like gr8 may not pass the test of time, they will inevitably form in response to society.

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  2. Your claim is clear and well drafted.

    ReplyDelete