What's New

What About You, My Reader

   This post is going to be a little different. I'm asking for your opinions on modern speaking and sharing my own thoughts. I'd love to know a little about the folks who are reading my blog here, so feel free to share your feelings on the below topics. Language is my thing, it's what I'm interested in. Even if how you speak and where you're from (generally, of course) are the only things I know about you, I'd feel I have connected with you, learned a little about my readers. Knowing a little about you, my readers, will help me to expand what I currently know about language and how it's spoken around the world. So you see, there's no need to be shy. I only want to learn about the words that come from your mouth. 

   Now, on to the topics of this bi-monthly post. 

"I am 23 years new."

 

   Nothing much, it seems, is new. Especially us. Once we're born, we're at least a second old. We're always old. Some people have taken a stand against this and chosen to say, when referring to someone's age, they are so-many years new. I've heard it from people I know and from a person or two on the radio and tv. It's a way to make themselves or others feel younger, newer, or less old.  

   What do you personally think about this? Let me know in the comments below whether simply knowing of this innovation in the English language has encouraged you to change your views on age, or change the way you refer to age. Do you know why people do this, and do you know many that do? Why do you think they've made this innovative choice to change our old ways?

Littler 

   According to Urban Dictionary, "Littler is a grammatically incorrect word that is used by too many Americans and especially by females. When a speaker uses the word littler in a sentence, such as 'That boy is littler than the other' it makes the speaker sound like a completely uneducated nimrod." 

   Now, I don't completely agree with the author who wrote the above criticism on the word littler. Actually, I don't agree with him at all. That's not because I'm an American and it's not because I'm a female who uses the word over much, because I don't really. It's because the writer sounds like a grammar Nazi. First off, I've heard just as many men as women use the words littler and littlest. And who's to say more Americans are more linguistically innovative than any other English speakers in the world? Third, how is littler "grammatically incorrect"? If anything, it's linguistically incorrect. In fact, my spell check isn't even trying to correct me. Littler and littlest are perfectly fine words in my book. 

   Linguistically, to use the -er and -est endings on words that are typically more than one syllable is incorrect (or innovative, if you ask me). You're supposed (according to linguistic Nazis) to use more and most with words that are more than one or two syllables. The word little falls right on the line - it's always before been a more and most word, but now it's becoming an -er and -est word. And the people who hate language change want to try and keep it the way it used to be, as a more and most word, by spreading the rumor that it's incorrect. I say, if the linguistic Nazis who control spell check aren't even saying it's wrong anymore, those who are saying it is wrong are greatly outnumbered.

   Now, if you use words like humongous-er and gigantic-er, you're currently wrong. Those are definitely more and most words. But there are exceptions to every rule - take good, well, and worse for example. You don't say good-er, well-est, or wors-er, you say better, best, and worst. Now, you could say smaller instead of littler, but that doesn't make littler wrong, just as saying grander instead of greater (or vice versa) doesn't make one or the other of them wrong. 

   I'm stopping my little rant now. I want to know what you think. Does it make a difference to you whether words like littler and littlest are considered wrong? Do you care whether things that are considered wrong by grammar or linguistic Nazis come out of your mouth or not? 

   Now, this is a little different of a post. Let me know whether you like this format better or not. I'd love to hear your opinions. Thanks for reading!