Is there a movement to modernize the English language according to usage by the “Y” generation?

Question

. It bothers me to write “He has lived an adventurous life” when, “He lived an adventurous life” has complete meaning and better phonetics. The heck with the old rules.

Answer 1

Well, the two sentences have slightly different meanings. In the first one, the person is still alive; in the second, he lived in the past -- he's dead. :)

But of course there's a movement to update language. There always is. But if you mean that are the style guides and grammar rules going to change overnight when it comes to formal communication? Not too likely. If you care about language, you know how to use it and break it. If it's not a big deal for you, all you need to know is how to communicate with the people you need to communicate with. You probably wouldn't use leet speak in a letter to your grandmother, because you know that that's not the best way to communicate with her.  So in the same way, if you need to write to people in academic circles, or in business, or journalism, or film, or in chat rooms, it makes sense to talk to them in the way that field uses language.

But yeah, Y have their own language quirks. They're great. I love all slang, all differences in language. They just won't all make it into the OED overnight, but that hardly matters!

Answer 2

For ages people simplified the English language and . . . see the movie "My Fair Lady" to see what happened. I hope it helps.

Answer 3

The latter statement makes perfect sense but so does the former. You should stick with the old since that has been the established norm of grammar and communication. I have however noticed that there are some new words that have made it's way into our everyday conversations especially with the "y" generation and I now see it in some modern dictionaries. Words such as phat, Yo, cell and lol. I gues this is what will differentiate the old school from the newly educated new school. These are merely the sign of the times. Cheers!

Answer 4

Many take it further than that.  Read some things right here on YA.  The computer shortcuts are so commonly used in texting, that they are accepted usage in some circles now.

Whenever a large body of the population uses certain words, it gets into the dictionary.

However, I believe good grammar should remail.