Recent graduates, including those with university degrees, seem to have no mastery of the language at all. They cannot construct a simple declarative sentence, either orally or in writing. They cannot spell common, everyday words. Punctuation is apparently no longer taught. Grammar is a complete mystery to almost all recent graduates.-----------------cited by J. Mersand, Attitudes toward English Teaching, 1961
Our language (I mean the English) is degenerating very fast. . . . I begin to fear that it will be impossible to check it.—1785
Our language is degenerating very fast. James Beattie, 1785
1917: “From every college in the country goes up the cry, ‘Our freshmen can’t spell, can’t punctuate.'”
1833: “Unless the present progress of change [is] arrested…there can be no doubt that, in another century, the dialect of the Americans will become utterly unintelligible to an Englishman.” (This, arguably, has happened.)
The Good Sense of the elements of Style
"Use definite,specific,concrete language."
"Write with nouns and verbs"
"Put the emphatic words at the end"
"Omit needless words"
Baffling advice:
-"The word people is not to be used with words of number,in place of 'persons'"
If of ' six people' five went away,how many 'people' would be left?Answer:one people."
Darwin: “Man has an instinctive tendency to speak, as we see in the babble of our young children, but no child has an instinctive tendency to bake, brew, or write.” The Language Instinct (1994/2007)
“We must, however, acknowledge, as it seems to me, that man with all his noble qualities... still bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin.”
― CHARLES DARWIN
“Intelligence is based on how efficient a species became at doing the things they need to survive.”
― Charles Darwin
“A man’s friendships are one of the best measures of his worth”
― Charles Darwin
“Problems in science are sometimes made easier by adding complications.”
― Daniel C. Dennett, Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life
Badly[ bad-lee ]
adverb, worse, worst.
in a defective, incorrect, or undesirable way:
The car runs badly.
in
an unsatisfactory, inadequate, or unskilled manner:
a vague, badly written letter; He paints badly.
unfavorably:
His neighbors spoke badly of him. The weather turned out badly for the cruise.
in a wicked, evil, or morally or legally wrong way.
in a disobedient, naughty, or ethically or socially wrong way:
He treats his parents badly.
very much; to a great extent or degree:
a house badly in need of repair; to want something badly.
severely; direly:
to be injured badly.
with great distress, resentment, regret, or emotional display:
She took the news of her mother's death badly.
adjective
in ill health; sick:
He felt badly.
sorry; regretful:
I feel badly about your reaction to my remark.
