# Should the integrity of the English language be protected against bastardisation? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 14, 2016, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-integrity-of-the-english-language-be-protected-against-bastardisation/765906 "2016-09-14T02:51:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![iLemming](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90db22/32.png) [@iLemming](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iLemming)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-integrity-of-the-english-language-be-protected-against-bastardisation/765906/1 "2016-09-14T02:51:05Z")
̶L̶a̶b̶o̶r̶ ----------------- LAB **OU** R (…not ennui through laying around) ̶F̶a̶n̶t̶a̶s̶i̶z̶e̶ ------------ FANTA **S** ISE (…not the volume of a super-sized, high fructose soda) ̶F̶e̶t̶u̶s̶ ---------------- F **O** ETUS (…not the state or condition of something) ̶S̶u̶l̶f̶u̶r̶ ---------------- SUL **PH** UR (…not the they way your pet looks after it rolls in mud) ̶D̶i̶a̶r̶r̶h̶e̶a̶ ------------- DIARRH **O** EA (…not duplicit rhetoric) ̶P̶e̶d̶o̶p̶h̶i̶l̶e̶ ----------- P **A** EDOPHILE (…not foot fetishism) ̶C̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶c̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶l̶e̶s̶s̶ ---- COULD**N’T (NOT)** CARE LESS (…ummm… what?) ̶B̶a̶s̶t̶a̶r̶d̶i̶z̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ------ …just …just …no. It’s one thing to give the ‘handicapped’ a “Common Core” leg-up in order to bring them up to speed with wider society. It’s an entirely different issue to undermine the fundamentals of a language just to cosset the plebeian masses, who seemingly cannot fashion the neural pathways required to remember a few, facile spelling rules. This continuous dilution of the English language by the _Sound-it-out Brigade_, is a slippery slope towards the destruction of the core tenets of the tongue. This _laissez-faire_ apathy regarding the integrity of the language, invariable leads to the “alot”, “bigly”, “wont”, “alright”, “hugely” _et al._ cancerous neologisitic phenomena that, through sheer weight of hoi polloi usage, can even influence linguistics itself – with dictionaries incorporating some of these patently misspelt and often unintelligible terms. English is not the conjugation convoluted and superfluously lettered French language; nor is it the arcane, multitudinous runic, _chinois_ communication method of Mandarin. English is actually a very facile language to learn – albeit difficult to master. As such, there is no rational reasoning behind this systematic **dumbing down** of the language, all for little more than to indulge the very demographic whose existence undermines it. To use a _du jour_ analogy (and another Gallicism!), it’s tantamount to allowing the unvetted flooding of one’s society by incompatible foreign cultures and ideologies, and then standing around, scratching one’s noggin, bemused as to why these introduced, unassimilated alloys result in the degradation of that which took generations to refine! Counter-intuitive and self-defeating, to a tee. Availing the French as an example once more; the French language attracts actual legislation which serves to protect its fundamentals from the nefarious ‘infection’ of such broached numbskull neologia. Why is it good enough for the French to cherish their diction, but not for the English-speaking world? Why can the French augur the very real dangers inherent in the unfettered dissemination of information the Internet Age entails, yet ‘we’ seem utterly blind to it? Is this also why our governments’ most sensitive secrets are being hacked as I type…(?) (\*rhetorical) Conspiracy time (\*the inculcated and inured can stop reading here): This process of pandering to the lowest common denominator is not exclusive to the field of language. Look at what has been taking place in the **film industry** – mindless rehashes and derivative dross, being the industry cash cow/s; **video games** – a pale, infantile, indulgent, glorified CGI schlock shadow of what the pastime once asked of its partakers; **music** – heard-today / forgotten-tomorrow, two-tone dimwitted ditties with lyrics spanning infantile to disconnect-the-EEG brain-dead… and then comes rap **retches** :smack:; **news media** – dog-wagged and simpleton supplicating, oftentimes barely discernible from ‘celebrity news’ faeces; **food** – the diabolical “fat” scapegoated for everything that ails us… despite the ridiculous incongruity of every product being “99.9% fat-free”, yet the [First] world waddling about in the most obscenely obese state it’s ever been; **politics** – the usurpation of the very _Acolytes of the Asinine_ that the aforementioned factors (_et al._) have conspired to raise from Saruman’s Uruk Hai bilge pits; religion – acceptance of the carnivorously coöpting of science, while simultaneously decry / denying its propositions and, worse yet, vesting itself in notions of “race” and “culture”, in order to afford inane ideology the protections the latter traits duly attract… et cœtera, et cœtera, et cœtera, (-King Mongkut of Siam) Thus, I arrive at my to my “red pill” contention: **This richly woven tapestry of ubiquitous dumbing down, pervading all sectors of human society, cannot be pure coincidence (-William of Ockham). This correlation between what one consumes and the product that is barfed up at the end of the process, is not without interplay. We are what we eat, and we have been fed tripe at every “God”-thanked meal, for time immemorial. As such, is it any wonder we are on the cusp of ticking over to ‘12’ on the Doomsday Clock…?** :dubious: Something’s definitely not quite right here, and my Spidey senses are tingling, something orgasmic, leading me in a beeline direction of this manifestly Machiavellian subterfuge helming from somewhere in the vicinity of the pernicious poisoning of our language… ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-integrity-of-the-english-language-be-protected-against-bastardisation/765906/2 "2016-09-14T02:55:08Z")
What integrity? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-integrity-of-the-english-language-be-protected-against-bastardisation/765906/3 "2016-09-14T02:58:43Z")
Let’s put it to a vote. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-integrity-of-the-english-language-be-protected-against-bastardisation/765906/4 "2016-09-14T02:59:36Z")
The bastardization of the English language started sometime around 1066. You’re a little late to the party. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-integrity-of-the-english-language-be-protected-against-bastardisation/765906/5 "2016-09-14T03:02:11Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Let’s put it to a vote. I vote for **more** bastardization, me droogies. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-integrity-of-the-english-language-be-protected-against-bastardisation/765906/6 "2016-09-14T03:09:06Z")
[http://www.angelfire.com/la2/timeline/OEnglish.html](http://www.angelfire.com/la2/timeline/OEnglish.html) > [@](#): > > The Lord’s Prayer in Old English > Matthew 6:9-13 > > Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum > Si þin nama gehalgod > to becume þin rice > gewurþe ðin willa > on eorðan swa swa on heofonum. > urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us todæg > and forgyf us ure gyltas > swa swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum > and ne gelæd þu us on costnunge > ac alys us of yfele soþlice Why leave such a beautiful language? May I _ax_ 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-integrity-of-the-english-language-be-protected-against-bastardisation/765906/7 "2016-09-14T03:35:58Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > What integrity? “English is a language that lurks in dark alleys, beats up other languages and rifles through their pockets for spare vocabulary.” ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-integrity-of-the-english-language-be-protected-against-bastardisation/765906/8 "2016-09-14T03:37:46Z")
At least English is bastardizing other languages even more. Or Bastard Tongue is already a virus of stupid for the world. I take comfort in the fact a Chinese person will likely learn what LOL means in her non native language. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-integrity-of-the-english-language-be-protected-against-bastardisation/765906/9 "2016-09-14T03:52:53Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > “English is a language that lurks in dark alleys, beats up other languages and rifles through their pockets for spare vocabulary.” It really loves the Schadenfreude. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-integrity-of-the-english-language-be-protected-against-bastardisation/765906/10 "2016-09-14T03:54:03Z")
As others have already noted: [It’s too late](https://www.amazon.com/Our-Magnificent-Bastard-Tongue-History/dp/1592404944).[URL=“[Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English - John H. McWhorter - Google Books](https://books.google.com/books?id=J7rEk4BW0_oC&dq=Our+Magnificent+Bastard+Tongue)”] ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-integrity-of-the-english-language-be-protected-against-bastardisation/765906/11 "2016-09-14T04:12:47Z")
At least in the US, the First Amendment protects us from government interference in our languages. The best you can hope for is voluntary acceptance of limitations on speech. Good luck with that. Personally, I’ll go with whatever I willy-nilly feel like. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-integrity-of-the-english-language-be-protected-against-bastardisation/765906/12 "2016-09-14T04:17:07Z")
> [@iLemming](#): > > ̶To use a _du jour_ analogy (and another Gallicism!), it’s tantamount to allowing the unvetted flooding of one’s society by incompatible foreign cultures and ideologies, and then standing around, scratching one’s noggin, bemused as to why these introduced, unassimilated alloys result in the degradation of that which took generations to refine! Every time you say ‘fetus’, God lets another brown person in your nice pristine country… fetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetusfetus ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-integrity-of-the-english-language-be-protected-against-bastardisation/765906/13 "2016-09-14T05:11:16Z")
The only language that is as “refined” as it is going to get (as you seem to think English has been at some point) is a dead language. Living languages evolve based (I hope you are sitting down for this) on the way they are used by the people who speak them, long may they wave. Your quest is not only hopeless but unwelcome. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-integrity-of-the-english-language-be-protected-against-bastardisation/765906/14 "2016-09-14T06:26:55Z")
Irregardless, English is good for all intensive purposes. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-integrity-of-the-english-language-be-protected-against-bastardisation/765906/15 "2016-09-14T07:20:47Z")
I have to admit that, If everything I had to read were as tortuously contrived as the OP, I probably would indeed give up on English and switch to something like semaphores or smoke signals. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-integrity-of-the-english-language-be-protected-against-bastardisation/765906/16 "2016-09-14T07:50:11Z")
Amusing, but are you sure you posted this in the right forum? ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-integrity-of-the-english-language-be-protected-against-bastardisation/765906/17 "2016-09-14T08:24:52Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The bastardization of the English language started sometime around 1066. > > You’re a little late to the party. This is correct, and in regards to the OP, the English language steamed along just fine for hundreds of years before anyone could be bothered to worry about the spelling. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-integrity-of-the-english-language-be-protected-against-bastardisation/765906/18 "2016-09-14T09:11:03Z")
There could have been a poll, however now you get to do all the math yourself. I vote Yes. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-integrity-of-the-english-language-be-protected-against-bastardisation/765906/19 "2016-09-14T10:13:33Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > There could have been a poll, however now you get to do all the math yourself. I vote Yes. Yës ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-integrity-of-the-english-language-be-protected-against-bastardisation/765906/20 "2016-09-14T11:55:31Z")
> [@iLemming](#): > > ̶ ̶S̶u̶l̶f̶u̶r̶ ---------------- SUL **PH** UR (…not the they way your pet looks after it rolls in mud) Sulfur was introduced in anglo-french with an F spelling. The PH spelling in English was a later invention, and its standardization over F didn’t occur until the late 19th century. Only to be reversed when IUPAC and RSC reinstated F. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-integrity-of-the-english-language-be-protected-against-bastardisation/765906.md?page=2)