Pain in the English
Pain in the English

Unpacking English, Bit by Bit

A community for questioning, nitpicking, and debating the quirks and rules of the English language.

Pain in the English
Pain in the English

Unpacking English, Bit by Bit

A community for questioning, nitpicking, and debating the quirks and rules of the English language.

Username

Charis

Member Since

August 5, 2011

Total number of comments

1

Total number of votes received

4

Bio

Latest Comments

obliged or obligated?

  • August 5, 2011, 9:36pm

I agree with JanxSpirit. Societies evolve and the words they use evolve with them. If this were not the case, we'd all be speaking like we're from a Shakespeare play. This is not meant to imply I enjoy seeing incorrect words become accepted as correct. I don't enjoy it at all. However, I also don't feel obliged to judge a person by their use of grammar (or their accent). To me British English sounds no more educated than American English simply because I don't factor a person's grammar into my decision to enjoy someone's company, or not.

It's interesting to see our languages evolve, grow and change. Some words that were nouns are now used as verbs ("text me" vs. "send me a text message") and I see no reason to find that offensive. New words are added to our dictionaries each year as well, simply because their use has become so common. It might be interesting to write a Vook about it.