Comments on: Language Victories https://nicomuhly.com/news/2009/language-victories/ The official website of the New York-based composer Nico Muhly. Wed, 13 May 2009 17:45:43 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.5 By: Ryan https://nicomuhly.com/news/2009/language-victories/comment-page-1/#comment-8699 Wed, 13 May 2009 17:45:43 +0000 http://nicomuhly.com/?p=1068#comment-8699 “Fucking up grammar” is always an interesting concept to deal with. Let me precede this with saying I’m a descriptivist (and fellow grammar fetishist) and that I think that “fucking up grammar” is a concept resulting from prescriptivism and cranky grammar nazis.

Isn’t it fun to play with language and to toy with innovative structures that represent language change in progress or catch someones ear in a particular way, or represent poetic license? Why is it okay to do this when it is wrong for someone to stop making a distinction between ‘who’ and ‘whom’, or ‘that’ and ‘who’ as a relative pronoun? Both of these things could be considered ‘fucking up grammar’ by different crowds, but only one gains acceptance.

Just some thoughts. Love the blog— I’m attempting to get my own rolling (on general topics of language, linguistics, programming and local news), but it’s taken some work. Check it out, anyway. 🙂

]]> By: indra https://nicomuhly.com/news/2009/language-victories/comment-page-1/#comment-8603 Sun, 12 Apr 2009 22:30:39 +0000 http://nicomuhly.com/?p=1068#comment-8603 I am delighted to read your blog but I think I have to disagree about the grammar issue. All cats hate being stroked in the wrong direction but in the current age there just aren’t that many that give a hoot about grammar. I think it’s good to keep in mind that grammar is not static whereas cats will probably always hate being stroked in the wrong direction unless some wacky shit happens to kitty DNA in a some years. blah blah. I think it’s a little great to fuck with grammar. It makes things interesting–it certainly draws my attention when I read a book and find an error or two (over two and I just think that the author is stupid or had a really lazy editor).

]]> By: Chris https://nicomuhly.com/news/2009/language-victories/comment-page-1/#comment-8236 Sat, 28 Mar 2009 13:25:48 +0000 http://nicomuhly.com/?p=1068#comment-8236 @craig: it was a montage of cat owners saying “she’s a talker,” with varying degrees of loving affectation.

]]> By: Craig https://nicomuhly.com/news/2009/language-victories/comment-page-1/#comment-8193 Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:54:07 +0000 http://nicomuhly.com/?p=1068#comment-8193 for those who weren’t quick on the draw and therefore missed the cat video … what happened in it?

]]> By: Chris https://nicomuhly.com/news/2009/language-victories/comment-page-1/#comment-8160 Fri, 27 Mar 2009 01:12:14 +0000 http://nicomuhly.com/?p=1068#comment-8160 As evidence of the importance of Nico’s observation, see Exhibit A, the NYT’s removal of said error by completely restructuring the sentence.

Grammar 4evah.

Is an “old gay dog lady” not a thing becauze it’s cooler than an “old gay cat lady,” or becauze it’s not a thing? I’m the former for sure. Or zure.

]]> By: Liner Notes Danny https://nicomuhly.com/news/2009/language-victories/comment-page-1/#comment-8102 Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:50:58 +0000 http://nicomuhly.com/?p=1068#comment-8102 …and the creator of that video just sent me a really, really nice note asking me to take it down, so I’ve done so.

It will live forever, in our hearts.

]]> By: Liner Notes Danny https://nicomuhly.com/news/2009/language-victories/comment-page-1/#comment-8095 Wed, 25 Mar 2009 17:59:03 +0000 http://nicomuhly.com/?p=1068#comment-8095 Our cat (Tyger Tyger) is NOT a talker, so I’ve actually begun making a huge noisy production of feeding her just in the hopes that she will become super-excited and meow for us. Which works, but also makes me a pathetic gay cat-lady x 1,000.

]]> By: Ian https://nicomuhly.com/news/2009/language-victories/comment-page-1/#comment-8094 Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:07:12 +0000 http://nicomuhly.com/?p=1068#comment-8094 Nico,

You may already be aware of these blogs, but if you appreciate the sinews and innards of language then you’ll probably fall quickly in love with Language Log and Language Hat. They’re both highly entertaining sites.

http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=1266

http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.languagehat.com%2Findex.rdf

]]> By: killian https://nicomuhly.com/news/2009/language-victories/comment-page-1/#comment-8092 Wed, 25 Mar 2009 11:44:00 +0000 http://nicomuhly.com/?p=1068#comment-8092 Well, then, Patrick- as- an -old -gay- cat lady, may I be one of those pretty kitties in your future? We can chat about Nico””s love of grammar until the wee hours. . .

]]> By: dave https://nicomuhly.com/news/2009/language-victories/comment-page-1/#comment-8090 Wed, 25 Mar 2009 07:16:30 +0000 http://nicomuhly.com/?p=1068#comment-8090 hey, no big deal, it””s just I’m used to you having far more interesting things to say than to complain about an errant apostrophe, which, where I come from is the domain of nerds and pub bores (:
Just keeping you on your toes old bean.

]]> By: Michael https://nicomuhly.com/news/2009/language-victories/comment-page-1/#comment-8089 Wed, 25 Mar 2009 03:49:20 +0000 http://nicomuhly.com/?p=1068#comment-8089 You’re so right about grammar! I love your blog. It cheers me up. What’s more lovable than that?

]]> By: Judd https://nicomuhly.com/news/2009/language-victories/comment-page-1/#comment-8088 Wed, 25 Mar 2009 02:39:56 +0000 http://nicomuhly.com/?p=1068#comment-8088 I enjoy the YouTube tags on that video, as well as Danny’s apparent homage to them.

]]> By: Patrick https://nicomuhly.com/news/2009/language-victories/comment-page-1/#comment-8076 Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:24:06 +0000 http://nicomuhly.com/?p=1068#comment-8076 well shit. thank you very much. my future life as an old gay cat lady just flashed before my eyes. Is this truly all that I have to look forward to????

]]> By: Fred https://nicomuhly.com/news/2009/language-victories/comment-page-1/#comment-8069 Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:06:56 +0000 http://nicomuhly.com/?p=1068#comment-8069 What about when the rules of grammar are played with and/or destroyed? Like in Wilson’s tribute to Glass?

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