|
Unfortunately only part of me was listening when someone explained to me the other day that the letter "ij" (with dots) that is such a source of confusion to non-Dutch speakers (and to make mattters even worse, the Dutch word for ice, i.e. "ijs", sounds just like "ice", when pronounced in a somewhat slack-jawed manner) had, in fact, come about as a result of a misunderstanding. I responded by saying that I seemed to remember that once upon a time there were typewriters featuring a single "ij" key, and went on to muse that the past history of a linguistic or spelling phenomenon was irrelevant in that one shouldn't keep harping on the same mistake: what was there, was there. Which prompted the person part of me was listening to to assert that it was for this reason that some professors maintained that modern language was synonymous with departing from the rules, which made everything alright. Or which made everything wrong, I countered, but this was not much appreciated as it had such a negative ring to it. Which prompted me to venture that surely it was a valid point of departure that language was a prominent feature of the system of norms and values without which life would be a hazardous shambles and that seen from this angle, the correct and lucid application of language as an instrument was a most beneficial thing which was anything but enhanced by unsolicited deviations, be they intentional or otherwise, so that ultimately I'd rather adopt as my view that everything that was not in accordance with the rules had to be incorrect. There's another way of looking at this. When people have insufficient grasp of the subtleties of the language they speak, alternatives will come about in everyday life in the form of simplifications which, once they have found general acceptance, will sooner or later acquire official status. In other words, the degree to which there is a need to revise linguistic rules is a yardstick for the quality of education in the preceding decades. However, this does not justify the multitude of simplifications and "commonsense" changes that were forced upon the Netherlands and Flanders some five years ago, for they have merely indulged bad grammar and paved the way for the appalling perspective that the relentless pressure of laziness or the ignorance of the less highly educated will eventually succeed in forcing out conjugations and declensions, cases and other subtle distinctions altogether. And that spectre, quite frankly, is enough to make my blood run cold. |