rndm thuts on cmunictin

posted in Journal
Published August 23, 2007
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The other day I was thinking about hours and hotels before stumbling upon a brilliant discovery. Grammar Nazis are Champions of Inconsistency.

The rules of syntax of natural languages are filled with exceptions and inconsistencies due to their organic manner of growth. Thus, anyone who champions the grammar of a natural language such as English must necessarily be a Champion of Inconsistency.

For example, H is not a vowel. But no one ever says a hour, its an hour. But you say a hotel. Cause an hotel sounds weird. []

This is why I prefer to have language serve me and not be its servant. The ultimate purpose of language is to allow communication between two objects capable of processing and acting on it, so long as it does this then it suffices. Natural Language carries thoughts from the human mind to the external, so it will always be imperfect. It may only suffice. Hence it seems silly to get annoyed when ppl - kids looking to display identity/membership - arbitrarily drp vwls and cnsnants from wrds. These people may use language as they see fit, it is merely an imperfect human tool.

If they are incomprehensible to me I say simply, I am sorry but I do not speak that language. I can only assume that their urgency to communicate outside their native group is minimal.
0 likes 5 comments

Comments

Programmer16
The 'an hour' thing is because people followed the stupid rule of "if it sounds like a vowel, then use an" rather than "if it starts with a vowel, use an."
August 23, 2007 07:15 PM
Daerax
Yeah. But 'a hour' does sound strange though. Maybe because I am simply unused to it.
August 23, 2007 07:24 PM
Driv3MeFar
I always though the rule was to use an when the next word starts with a vowel sound, hence the hour vs hotel discrepancy, but I'm no grammar expert.
August 23, 2007 07:28 PM
Buster2000
You are supposed to say "an hotel". I know it doesn't sound right but thats the way it the english language goes.
August 24, 2007 04:11 AM
Daerax
There have been 3 posts and 3 variations of the rule. This goes to show how confusing and inconsistent english can be and is.
August 27, 2007 10:26 AM
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