Stop being an asshole about prepositions

[mikehz]

Fake languages always fail because they are born dead. Living languages have the flexibility to evolve. The English you speak today is not the same as the English spoken by your grandfather, and would be almost unrecognizable to someone born in Shakespeare's day. (Just look at the word “gay,” for example. Some young people today don't even know that the term had an entirely different connotation a generation ago.)

Rule fail in English because they were written largely in the 19th Century using Latin rules—which don't work for English. In reality general usage makes the rules, and this is forever evolving.

As for the stupid rule against ending sentences in prepositions, it exists in Latin, but not in English.

BTW, I was an English major. The most important grammar rule I learned is that most of the grammar “rules” are bullshit.

[Alex Libman]

I think we need a dichotomy - a perfectly logical universal language for some uses, and a perfectly subjective freely-evolving regional languages for others.

[BobRobertson]

I think we need a dichotomy - a perfectly logical universal language for some uses, and a perfectly subjective freely-evolving regional languages for others.

English.

Use it precisely when precision is important.

Say whatcha gonna say when that does the job better.

I remember reading a shortstory where the word "goes" was used instead of "said". The first few pages hurt, then it stopped hurting.

[crossofcrimson]

I like how, in an attempt to mock the OP, people are throwing out phrases which they believe (I guess) end in a proposition...and actually don't.

[sandm000]

I think we need a dichotomy - a perfectly logical universal language for some uses, and a perfectly subjective freely-evolving regional languages for others.

Rape Cages for some, tiny American flags for everyone else!

[mikehz]

English is by default the universal language. It's the official language of more countries than any other, and more people speak English than any other language. (Forget Mandarin. While it's the first language of more people than any other, more people speak English as a second language than any other.)

World wide, it's the language of science, business, and industry. A French pilot landing at an Italian airport converses in English with the control tower.

Knowing I was going to Mexico on a trip, I spent some time brushing up on my Spanish. I really looked forward to trying it out by speaking to the locals. I was disappointed though, since virtually everyone I met spoke better English than I did Spanish.

There is a huge demand to learn English in other parts of the world. If someone in Japan or Brazil or Nigeria is studying a language, it's almost certainly English.

[rwwright]

Heh ... Gardner Goldsmith's Liberty Conspiracy would drive you totally buggy. 

I've tried listening to it and couldn't stand it, but I don't remember that having anything to do with his grammar.

I like how, in an attempt to mock the OP, people are throwing out phrases which they believe (I guess) end in a proposition...and actually don't.

Even if they did, why would that bother me?

[crossofcrimson]

Even if they did, why would that bother me?

I'm pretty sure I didn't imply that it would.

[rwwright]

I'm pretty sure I didn't imply that it would.

Okay...

[rwwright]

On Saturday (1:32:18), Ian said "I totally understand and empathize with uh... from where you're coming."

Are you fucking kidding me?!