Why have you killed the English language?

People have been saying this for hundreds of years. Everyone panics as they watch the language evolve.

I for one am really glad we're not speaking Old English, which was practically German, or Shakespeare English, which had insanely complicated grammar rules and declension cases and all kinds of silly things like TV distinctions etc.

Couldn't agree more... up to a point

I have been studying English for about 4 years now, and one of my biggest problems is how many grammar issues there are in daily spoken English. Academic English and every-day English are drastically different. There have been times when I've had questions about grammar, and found that it's useless to ask people in my workplace or on the streets about it.

That's true for many languages, I can tell, being Spanish speaker. But the biggest problem is that English doesn't seem to have an academic institution devoted to the preservation and proper use of the language. In Spanish we have the R.A.E (Royal Academy of Spanish) and many other languages have their own regulators, but it is not the case for English. It was crazy for me trying to understand how come the spelling in British and American English are not the same. In Spanish, the R.A.E. regulates how words are written and their meaning. Of course, the meaning of some words change in some countries, but at least the spelling is the same in all Spanish speaking countries (which are more than 25).

I have the feeling that English speakers can do what they feel like with the language. Any noun can be turned into a verb or an adjective. Even brands can be turned into verbs. Now, in the" texting" era, the spelling of words becomes chaotic. Numbers can become part of words, vowels can be left out, and so on. Another big issue is the amount of people who speak English. I must say that the tendency for English learners, is to apply the rules of our own language into English, making the chaos even bigger.

By insinuating that "you" have killed the English language in your question, you are saying that everyone that Speaks English has killed which is hilariously false. That also means that you, being a speaker of the English language, have killed the English language. So before you vent about something that you obviously are wrong about, think before you say. Okay? :) Okay.

Actually, it's the other way around. The English language is very much alive and evolving.

When a language stops evolving, it is considered dead. Language death occurs when scholars such as yourself decry any deviation from an older standard, thusly enshrining a form of obsolete language and preventing it from evolving any more. This is what happened to Latin.

In addition, I think you should take a look at some personal letters from the 16th through 18th centuries-- you'll find that the lack of regard for grammar and spelling conventions far surpasses anything we see today as ink and paper were very expensive. Lord Byron himself is notorious for the very compact language he used in letter writing.

If you talk to native speakers of any language they also use slang and shorten their words when they text, email etc. Just one example is in spanish, instead of"Que" they say "Ke"

It is b/c when you are on the net, as lng a u dnt tipe lyk dis, then it is easy enough to understand you while also being way easier on the typist b/c they dont have to worry about proper grammar. I highly doubt that if you look at their schoolwork you will find they write the same way they type on the computer.

I agree, but alas I am guilty as charged.

On the other hand, while in regions of the country develope their own 'slang', perhaps the 'text language' is a form of generational slang.

Conclusion: Everyone should speak the Cybertronian language.

Surreeee.....

Languages change and evolve, just like human culture. English is not dying, it is changing.

For example, the "ly" is being slowly dropped from adverbs. "I run quickly" has become "I run quick". it is not wrong or right, it just is.

Sorry you think that the only English that should be written is pure and unadulterated by such evils as typos, texto, and changes, but that's life.

Bravo!

These are the same people who, if you point out a grammatical or spelling error, say, "Well, you knew what I meant." Yes, but that's not the point.

Not only are these people functionally illiterate, they're proud of it!

Self defents.