Rant 5 - 5/1/12 Subject: The bastardisation of the English language

Here we go again

Rant Number 5

I thought today's subject was to be the way that people drive. And no doubt, had I not popped in for petrol, this would have been todays subject (don't worry, it will be my subject sooner or later).

Filling up with petrol is not in itself a traumatic experience (apart from the cost), so this wasn't what bugged me.

No, what suddenly changed my mind and upped my pulse was a sticker in the rear windscreen of the card in front of me which read:

'Don't be Jel, be Reem'

That I had to do an internet search for the meaning of this phrase says it all doesn't it?

Apparently this is street talk for 'Don't be Jealous, be gorgeous/cool.' Made famous by characters featured upon 'The Only Way is Essex,' 'A Dramality' (Drama Reality) set in - you guessed it, Essex.

I have already covered reality TV in rant number 2, so you can guess what I think of - and I quote 'real people in modified situations, saying unscripted lines but in a structured way.' This isn't what this rant is about however.

No, what I find to be profoundly distressing is the addition of words into our noble language that would put a room full of babbling toddlers to shame.

Our language is old, and has gone through many changes I will grant. I accept that words and phraseology does change organically. I know that we do not now speak the Old English of the Saxons & that few Latin words remain. All this I accept with open arms.

I feel however that 'street speak,' and digital technology & the media is doing irreparable damage to the modern English language.

A local fashion for instance, is to say 'Peng' (as in cool, great etc) & Deng as a logical equivalent.

I mean really!?

Are good, cool, great, fabulous, brilliant, fabulous, sterling, wonderful or splendid really not sufficient words to cover something positive? 

Evidently not.

And these words only offend out-loud. The worst crimes tend to take place when real words are misspelt through pig ignorance or through deliberate action in order to look 'wel kool'

Even a common pronoun like you - a might 3 letters long and featuring a whopping one syllable is shortened to 'u' - not just to save letters on a text message any more but because it is in some way considered so much more street smart to save your fingers on those 2 other letters (lets face it - we're talking about another 200% effort.)

Why can't people talk properly, write properly and not - well be people.

Rant over.