How the Internet changed the way we write

[FreeThinker]

There is an interesting article in The Guardian regarding the evolution of English in the era of the Internet and how one's rules and style vary according to context. Some old fogeys, (me), are sticklers for the old grammatical rules, (my editor might raise an eyebrow reading that), but the new conventions of Internet writing actually make reading easier and more comprehensible (according to the author, the style editor for Buzzfeed--having read Buzzfeed, I think "style editor for Buzzfeed" might be an oxymoron).

 

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/booksblog/2017/dec/07/internet-online-news-social-media-changes-language

[Merkin]

Thanks, FreeThinker, for the link.  A lot of what that writer states makes me wince.  I find it amusing that he claims to have written a 'style book' for what he brags is a constantly changing language and grammar.  I think the most curious claim he makes is this:   ' Prescriptivism (i.e., following the rules) has the potential to make a piece of writing seem dated or stodgy.'  In my opinion, there is nothing that dates a written work and makes it awkward or even hilarious to read than a writer who insists on using what he perceives to be the "youthspeak" of a generation where he does not have personal experience.   That is the precise condition that 'following the rules' permits us to avoid, by providing a level playing field for our written communication and story-telling.

Bah, humbug!