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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 18th, 2023

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  • This post kind of ignores basics of grammar instruction that we’ve known for centuries. Some people try to teach grammar from a prescriptive fashion. They tell us what the rules are, they have us memorize them, and then we can speak perfectly.

    The problem is, that’s not how language works in reality. Even if you had a perfect language to begin with, something with no exceptions of any kind, after 20 years people would have added their own changes. So then the original instruction that you gave, that wouldn’t prepare future language learners for reality.

    This is why we have to teach grammar and spelling descriptively. We’re talking about what actually happens in the world when people actually speak and write in English. Of course it’s nice to point out common customs and conventions, but we don’t get to ignore all of the irregular things just because they’re irritating to memorize.

    And this is true for all languages that are used by even a medium-sized population over time. You cannot avoid it, you’ll find it in every language, sorry.





  • It’s an interesting story, but the writing quality is terrible. A “clerical error” caused the issue … No. Actually, a person or some people didn’t do their jobs. Human beings acted improperly, presumably accidentally, but their specific actions caused this problem.

    This is important because he got in trouble for his actions. Someone else made a mistake, but they aren’t named, blamed, or even held responsible, whereas he got locked up when he didn’t make any mistakes.







  • Twenty plus years we could have shared pop culture. If it was on the radio or popular cable TV, maybe many people saw it. But now there’s too much information, period. Everyone specializes. If you expect people to know their memes, you’re pressuring them to consume the same media they do. Not cool.

    So, float the meme, why not. But expect it to flop. Be happily surprised when it doesn’t.