by Mayv 'SpearBourne' Amaia

Created on: July 19, 2010   Last Updated: August 28, 2011

Is the English language being destroyed by apathy? Are we really standing idly by and allowing this to happen?

While the simple answers to those questions might appear to be 'yes', there is more to it than simple apathy. There is also a certain degree of ignorance combined with an apparent dearth of motivation to learn the correct way to construct a sentence.

While a language is, of course, a living entity, fluid and evolving, there is a clear difference between a word's meaning gradually changing over time and a word being used improperly.

In this day of global communication, we often lead by example. One person writes something and posts it online, misspelled words, errant homonyms, and atrocious syntax intact; others read it and see nothing wrong with the way it is written. These readers then proceed to use a similar writing style, or lack thereof, themselves.

From there, such mistakes proliferate and become accepted, however incorrect they may be.

Or, to paraphrase a conversation Michael Douglas and Michael J. Fox had in The American President, people don't drink the desert sand where there was only a mirage because they're thirsty; they drink the sand because they don't know the difference.

In that scene, they were discussing political leadership, but I find that it fits this subject as we can't help but lead others by example.

Many say "I could care less" when they actually mean "I couldn't care less." If one could not care any less, one does not care at all about whatever was being discussed. The simple addition or omission of one little word can, and often does, completely alter the meaning of a sentence. I cannot count the number of times I have had difficulty or been utterly unable to understand what someone had written.

Too often, they're, there, and their are erroneously used interchangeably due to their nearly identical pronunciation. You're (you are) and your often fall victim to a similar misunderstanding.

Then and than, due to neutralisation of the vowels e and a, are being used incorrectly as well. Then, however, refers to when something happens, as in, "If you go, then I will go, too."

Sadly, some use the word thin to mean then, and than to mean then. Somehow, even the word thin, a synonym for slender or skinny, has been confused by some for the word then.

The relatively recent emergence of shorthand in use for text messages and microblogging sites such as Twitter has also not helped grammar and spelling skills.

This is not to say that, on its own, the new language or dialect does not have a place or a purpose. This form of shorthand does have a place, but it does not belong in essays or online forums where we actually have the space to type out the proper word.

Is it really that difficult to care about how we appear and/or sound to others? Does it really take that long to learn the correct pronunciation, grammar, and syntax?

If you take just a moment to lift yourself from such apathy, it could make a world of difference in how others perceive you.

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