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Subject:RE: the old insure ensure assure From:"Downing, David" <DavidDowning -at- users -dot- com> To:<techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:22:47 -0600
From: Gause_Brian -at- emc -dot- com
Subject: RE: the old insure ensure assure
Kevin,
I share your distaste for the degradation of language, but this is a
fundamental character of all language. Words and meaning change as usage
dictates...and users are smart and dumb...apprised of the rules, and
not. You simply cannot expect English to remain intact as it stands
today, now and forever, and you are silly to take sides against the
evolution of language. The only language that doesn't change is a dead
language.
Brian Gause
-----------------------------------
But where do you draw the line between evolution and degradation? I'm
inclined to see it as degradation when there were formerly two words
that each had a distinct meaning and one of those words starts to get
misused for the other and eventually the misuse becomes accepted. For
example, it's always bugged me that "lay" is now acceptable to be used
in cases where "lie" was formerly the correct word.
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