Timothy Birdnow

Selwyn Duke dishes on a Hamster meltdown.

Millennial Becomes Unhinged After Boss Corrects Her Spelling of "Hamster”

How can you do anything right if you do not follow the rules?  No civilization can function with everyone making up his or her own way of doing things. Self-expression is only real within the boundaries of linguistic structure ie. you have to be able to communicate by using language properly. Foul up the language and you foul up the society.

This is no minor thing. Part of the triumph of the West over other, equally innovative cultures (like ancient China) was our language; it is particularly suited for technical and scientific discussion. This is especially true of English, which is a pidgin language importing aspects of the  Germanic Old English with French and a host of other languages. The end result is a very flexible language with multiple words for slight variations of meaning. And it is held together by grammar (which is not your mother's mother, for you Millenials) which allows you to interpret things in an almost mathematical way. Many other languages lack grammar. I am given to understand Chinese doesn't have that - which is why the Chinese are not so innovative as are we. Too much of the meaning of Chinese is in pronunciation. That makes it hard to communicate complex ideas in written form.

My own experience is with Russian, a language which is poor for technical writing. I should know; I have a certificate in Russian Scientific Translation and translated many Russian technical works into English. I am always amazed at the success of the Russians despite the limitations of their language; they don't have anywhere nearly as many adjectives or adverbs or other fine distinctions in their language. They DO have grammar, though, and as a result they can organize their thoughts in an appropriate way.

So English is a great language for STEM, provided the rules are followed. Sadly, our modern educational system has dismissed those rules as irrelevant. How do you have organized thinking when you can't organize your linguistics?

You may think it no big deal; you say tomato, I say tomaahto, but a misspelling on your paycheck can wind up a HUGE deal. Ditto a misspelling in a computer program, or a building blueprint. As far as I know there is a state called New Hampster; my lisping second grade teacher told me so!

At any rate, the decline of our language goes hand-in-glove with the decline of our thought processes. Is it any wonder so many young people seem lacking in critical thinking? They have no tools to work with, no organizational structure within which to comprehend the Universe. Sloppy language equals sloppy thinking.

Which comports well with the plans of our Ruling Class. They want worker drones and obedient servants, and people who can't think make the very best. Yo can't think if you do not have the language skills to put things into a logical order.

Of course, this also bespeaks a culture whereby correction in any form is considered an attack. We have created a generation of spoiled brats, incapable of being told they are wrong.

In the end, the West became what it is because our language was superior. No other reason. The Arab world has a very flowery, colorful language, one that is excellent at inflaming the passions and whatnot, but is not very helpful in terms of pure science. That is not to say the Arabs didn't produce some excellent scientists and mathematicians, but that they labored under a handicap. We always had a leg up on them because our languages in the West were all composites, hybrids, and they had to be very precise so the many could understand one another.

We are now experiencing a Tower of Babel moment; our language is becoming increasingly confused. That is why our young are so confused.

Confucius said that for a society to renew itself it must first true the language. Confucius was right.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 09:40 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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