Dumbing down of the English language

Discussion in 'Off Topic Area' started by Simon, Jul 21, 2012.

  1. CrowZer0

    CrowZer0 Assume formlessness.

    Wasn't my comment, I just copied and pasted, that, should have made it more clear. :) I don't believe it means anyone has a faster brain.
     
  2. Bruce W Sims

    Bruce W Sims Banned Banned

    I have to agree with both you AND Owl.

    I care care not one witt for the the latest escapade from Hollywood and the most current complaint from the "Rich and Spoiled". Far too many news sources have incorporated Entertainment news to boost ratings and maybe we should start a separate thread about THAT. Getting back to the quality of English usage, though, maybe we need to revisit the level of communication for various sources. For instance, I have always heard that the typical daily newspaper is written at about an 8th Grade level of Reading and Comprehension. By comparison, "specialty" newspapers such as INVESTOR DAILY or WALLSTREET JOURNAL are written at about a College Freshman level. In like manner, I think the TV News programs are written at varying levels. I know when I watch some programs I feel like I am being talked to like a 10-year-old. I get this when I watch NBC and Fox News in particular.
    Not so much with CBS, BBC or Al-JAZEERA. I would probably put BBC and AL-JAZEERA on the same plane except that BBC seems to be a tad more verbous.

    The reason I have provided this reflection is that we are talking about the quality of the English Language and I wonder what would happen if BBC and AL-JAZEERA-----two sources I have put towards the "top" of the pyramid----- suddenly began to simplify their communication to appeal to, say, an 8th Grade level of the population in the way our Newspaper dailies do. Thoughts?

    Best Wishes,

    Bruce
     
    Last edited: Jul 24, 2012
  3. CrowZer0

    CrowZer0 Assume formlessness.

    I personally prefer Channel 4 news, I find it of a higher standard than the BBC and Al Jazeera, I really don't rate the BBC news service that highly tbh.

    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lqGini5BiE&feature=related"]Channel 4 News - Habbo Hotel coverage, 12-Jun-2012 - YouTube[/ame]
     
  4. m1k3jobs

    m1k3jobs Dudeist Priest

    I think that the issue is that the people who want balanced, well investigated, intelligent news are not the demographic that the advertisers are aiming for and thus the networks cater to the advertisers and their target groups in their never ending quest for higher ratings. Also, it is a lot cheaper to produce "fluff" news programs.

    Marketing pretty much drives network television across the board.
     
  5. Bruce W Sims

    Bruce W Sims Banned Banned

    a.) Agreed, but what does that say about the subject at hand? Since we were little children playing with blocks we knew that it is always more difficult to ADD structure (IE stack blocks) than take it away (IE tumble blocks).

    b.) IMHE, Marketing is very much about "quick", "easy" and "cheap" and "popular"----many times all four at the same time. This has been a defacto standard since the invention of Money and its use ---through Book-keeping and Accounting--- over Species.

    Now try to put statements A & B together. If it takes more Energy to ADD structure----in an environment where the culture is to expend as little energy as possible-----what will happen to standards that have historically required an invesment of Energy such as Painting, Writing, Sculpture, and Dance? Thoughts?

    Best Wishes,

    Bruce
     
  6. Meitetsu

    Meitetsu Valued Member

    On a lark i purchased "No fear Shakespeare" 12th Night. Side by side version with Will on the left and "contemporary English" on the right.
    Highlight:
    The honorable lady of the house, which is she? Which one of you is the lady of the house.
     
  7. andym

    andym Valued Member

    Here is my worry , language is always changing, but what is the motive for that change ? I genuinely believe this is because we in the west are getting 'dumber', because we are abandoning methods of education that have been proven, for those that work in theory. Or is it the slow appearance of a form of 'Newspeak' , limiting our ability to communicate and those think ? I view 'txt speak' on this way.
     
  8. Bruce W Sims

    Bruce W Sims Banned Banned

    Please excuse this flight of Philosophy.....

    The artist in me is ever in search of those portions of our Humanity that are steeped in Soul. And no, I can give no tidy definition for this term, but know it only by its absence.

    I miss the use of language that catches me up like a fish in a net and makes me engage with Harper Lee's "Scout" in "To Kill A Mockingbird" or the plight of Thomas More four centuries earlier in "A Man for All Seasons". Leon Uris' "Mila 18" and John Hersey's "The Wall" both shared the history of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising but the artistry between these two tellings might as well have made it two separate events.

    In the matter of News, there is a reason why Edward R Murrow and Walter Cronkite have achieved News Correspondent Sainthood and why the majority of the droll talking heads we have today never will.

    In like manner there is a reason why that other News source---the Holy Bible--- will only be read by me in the pre-1900 prose. English has a complexity, meter, range, variance and utility that is not well served by trimming but by savoring and appreciating. FWIW.

    Best Wishes,

    Bruce
     

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