At 10:32 AM 2/1/02 -0500, you wrote: >Hi C-H's, >horrible I know, but what can one do? The Western English speaking >world is fast turning into an intellectual desert and I believe the >low standards accepted in advertising, broadcasting, political >speaking and email are largely to blame. Sorrry. Now I'm ranting. > Actually language is a continually growing, living thing. The changes that are accelerating within the English language now are just reflecting the growing changes that are shaping the society we live in. You can make it as intellectual as you want, there have been folks complaining about the purity of the spoken word as long as there has been a spoken word (My Fair Lady comes to mind). You may not like the result but to try to stop it or hold onto the "good old days" means it's just going to blow past you. Of course we could go the French route and set up a government agency to ensure National Purity in language. Set up lists designating what word usage was "proper." Monitor all the media and dictate the percentage of non-approved grammer will be tolerated (shut down Fox Network...). I'm sure if Bush would hold off on that tax cut we could fund it... :-) =Mark