| Kommentar | I'm glad to see that so many have thoughts about language and writing changing with the times. The rate of these changes keeps increasing. It can be alarming to all of us.
Languages all live and breathe and change. How we write and spell words changes. We can do absolutely nothing about this. Some changes we like, others we detest. Why? Humans are nostalgic, we love traditions. Traditions make us feel safe. The way we spell and use words is basically a question of tradition. Humans become fearful when traditions change or fall by the wayside too rapidly. We fear that fast change means a loss of knowledge accumulated over years, centuries or eons. Traditions help us feel we are at home, feel we belong. Sometimes beautiful things, concepts do get trampled over and lost forever. In the end, as long as what we say or write is understandable, and therefore clear communication, it makes no different how it is spelled. Or whether it is capitalized. That's the next thing for German to lose completely. English has lost it except for proper names. The same with Nederlands, Danish, Swedish, French, etc. Nobody misses it at all. Why doesn't German do away with it today? Only tradition. Why does one still make such an effort differentiating between dative and accusative? Why do Germans spend so much time teaching their children to say das Haus, but die Maus? It's all useless, isn't it? In English it's the house, the mouse. It causes absolutely no confusion.
On the other hand, young people:
The fact is, the real truth is.. sad as it may be:
It is incumbent upon you to show your elders that you are intelligent and diligent. This means that you went to school, paid attention and worked to get good marks. Elders, from whom you hope to get jobs, need to know that you have a good education and that you can think logically and are capable of learning more and that you can (and are willing to) follow directions.
Therefore, it works to your disadvantage to speak or write in a manner which does not show others that you have these socially desirable attributes.
In the American South even school teachers say ain't and y'all. These words are not considered "proper" English, even though absolutely everyone understands them. It may be even useful to use such words and phrases. However, practicality dictates that a young person seeking to fit in and be "successful" in the world knows what others need to hear to be assured that he is hiring someone who fits into the current definition of "educated."
Many blacks purposefully use black slang out of defiance. Sadly, although it may have cultural merit and bolster one's standing in one's own group, not knowing when to avoid it keeps many black people from getting better jobs and being more upwardly mobile in society.
Ludacris just might be a fun word, and it certainly is easier to write and remember than ludicrous, but damn, it just looks like hell and screams out:
I'm stupid.
I'm lazy.
I don't care how society wants me to spell words.
I've never looked at a dictionary.
Words and language don't interest me.
All of these personal qualities are off-putting to those who would hire you and put you out front to talk to their clients as an example of their wonderful personnel. In other words, a disregard for current language norms because you want to make a personal or generational or racial statement is like cutting your nose off to spite your face. I.e, it can have the opposite effect of that which you desire.
So, if you use slang, cool new spellings, etc. do so in a way that others can see that you do know better.
I say this purely not because I think it's right as opposed to wrong, but only because it's pragmatic.
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