I’m only focusing on your comment about language here, and yes I’m aware that it’s a rant, but I feel the need to add some additional info because it brings me calm when I get irritated about similar things. I’m in no way coming at you or your opinion because the changes in language, like the most recent usage of “cringe,” are irritating and bothersome to me also:
I remember when I was in college, my best friend was really irritated by everyone starting to say “real” as an intensifying adverb as opposed to “really.” For example, instead of saying “I was really bothered by that situation,” people began saying, “I was real bothered by that situation.” For the most part, this didn’t change the meaning of what was said, but it did change the connotation a bit. While both sentences mean that the person was very much bothered by the situation, one sounds like a serious confession of your feelings, and the other sounds like the situation was crazy enough that itself was the cause of the discomfort. It changes the flavor of the sentence by emphasizing something else. It also changes the formality of the language. I’m not going to use “real” like that in a formal setting, but it does fit better when telling a crazy story to my friends.
I had also been taking a linguistics/grammar class at the time this came up, so I had very recently been discussing descriptive vs prescriptive grammar and what makes a language a living language as opposed to a dead one. While my knowledge of linguistics is definitely limited, I did take away that language constantly changes and adds new variations on meanings and expressions all the time. That’s not a bad thing! Without growth, our language dies. Our language adapts and twists and develops with or without our individual consent. But the vocabulary of the many is what shapes language. As much as it drives me nuts, if the majority agrees that this is the way we say something now, it now becomes correct in terms of lexicon, grammar, and usage. Otherwise, we would still be referring to “selfies” as “photos you take of yourself.”
I now consider these situations to be simply the growing pains of language. While they can be irritating, especially to those who learned to do things in a very specific way, they are necessary for the survival of our language. As much as I don’t love the idea of saying “cringe” as an adjective, it is the younger people’s way of saying “cringeworthy.” Once that is mainstream, it has then been added to the overall language’s lexicon. We either change with the times of language or risk being left in its dust. None of our lives are long enough that people will be unable to understand our version of the “old” language, but I think it’s important to try to grow along with the language. This is, at the very least, so that we can understand it, but more importantly, so we can appreciate the newest flavor of our language, even though it may be an acquired taste.
It’s easiest for my brain to put it in the perspective that I should appreciate that things are different because the very difference that bothers me is a sign of growth, not decay. The Guardian is just keeping up with the times. Maybe they’re trying a bit too hard to be hip, but I get it. It’s a case of grow or die. Should they be better than that? Probably, but I’m not sure why you’re expecting that of The Guardian. I don’t associate them with using the most professional word choice.
Most importantly, to end the story about my best friend, I began using “real” as an adverb often which started out as a way to piss off my friend just a little bit, but ended with me wanting to change as the language changed so I could experience the beauty of its growth.
I’m only focusing on your comment about language here, and yes I’m aware that it’s a rant, but I feel the need to add some additional info because it brings me calm when I get irritated about similar things. I’m in no way coming at you or your opinion because the changes in language, like the most recent usage of “cringe,” are irritating and bothersome to me also:
I remember when I was in college, my best friend was really irritated by everyone starting to say “real” as an intensifying adverb as opposed to “really.” For example, instead of saying “I was really bothered by that situation,” people began saying, “I was real bothered by that situation.” For the most part, this didn’t change the meaning of what was said, but it did change the connotation a bit. While both sentences mean that the person was very much bothered by the situation, one sounds like a serious confession of your feelings, and the other sounds like the situation was crazy enough that itself was the cause of the discomfort. It changes the flavor of the sentence by emphasizing something else. It also changes the formality of the language. I’m not going to use “real” like that in a formal setting, but it does fit better when telling a crazy story to my friends.
I had also been taking a linguistics/grammar class at the time this came up, so I had very recently been discussing descriptive vs prescriptive grammar and what makes a language a living language as opposed to a dead one. While my knowledge of linguistics is definitely limited, I did take away that language constantly changes and adds new variations on meanings and expressions all the time. That’s not a bad thing! Without growth, our language dies. Our language adapts and twists and develops with or without our individual consent. But the vocabulary of the many is what shapes language. As much as it drives me nuts, if the majority agrees that this is the way we say something now, it now becomes correct in terms of lexicon, grammar, and usage. Otherwise, we would still be referring to “selfies” as “photos you take of yourself.”
I now consider these situations to be simply the growing pains of language. While they can be irritating, especially to those who learned to do things in a very specific way, they are necessary for the survival of our language. As much as I don’t love the idea of saying “cringe” as an adjective, it is the younger people’s way of saying “cringeworthy.” Once that is mainstream, it has then been added to the overall language’s lexicon. We either change with the times of language or risk being left in its dust. None of our lives are long enough that people will be unable to understand our version of the “old” language, but I think it’s important to try to grow along with the language. This is, at the very least, so that we can understand it, but more importantly, so we can appreciate the newest flavor of our language, even though it may be an acquired taste.
It’s easiest for my brain to put it in the perspective that I should appreciate that things are different because the very difference that bothers me is a sign of growth, not decay. The Guardian is just keeping up with the times. Maybe they’re trying a bit too hard to be hip, but I get it. It’s a case of grow or die. Should they be better than that? Probably, but I’m not sure why you’re expecting that of The Guardian. I don’t associate them with using the most professional word choice.
Most importantly, to end the story about my best friend, I began using “real” as an adverb often which started out as a way to piss off my friend just a little bit, but ended with me wanting to change as the language changed so I could experience the beauty of its growth.