re: #96 wheat-dogg, raker of forests, master of steam

I can foresee “different from” becoming a thing of the past, as “different than” is used more and more frequently. It’s the fluidity of language, and try as we teachers might, grammar rules are only descriptive, not proscriptive, in the larger sense.

Likewise, there are many examples of Chinese learners consistently changing English to make it conform to Chinese grammar. For example, they will say “I very like that,” instead of “I like that very much.” Given the sheer numbers of Chinese speakers of English, I can also foresee everyone around the world adopting that syntax within the next century.

i am a firm believer in norms, standards, traditions, structure etc

also fine with “as long as i know what you mean”
and that, only as language evolves naturally and change is not ‘forced’
whether it be grammar or the definition/usage of words

30+ years ago, trying to gender neutralize every word (mailman, chairman, even woman) was forced, and destined to be ignored. today, recognizing changes in how we view gender in language seem unstoppable

and dont get me started on when ‘bad’ was ‘good’