So... on the language thing, languages literally change and evolve. Linguists decided a long time ago that trying to prescribe how to use language was a pointless folly. It's like trying to turn back the tide. End of.
This is why modern linguists take a descriptivist approach, studying those changes and the evolution of languages instead of trying to preserve them in aspic.
The purpose of language is to communicate. If a given word usage or phrase is understood by a community of speakers, it's "correct" - or at least, not wrong. If the answer to "D'ya get me?" is yes, then anything else is entirely subjective.
(Source: I've got a degree in linguistics, which is generally about as useful as it sounds).
So... on the language thing, languages literally change and evolve. Linguists decided a long time ago that trying to prescribe how to use language was a pointless folly. It's like trying to turn back the tide. End of.
This is why modern linguists take a descriptivist approach, studying those changes and the evolution of languages instead of trying to preserve them in aspic.
The purpose of language is to communicate. If a given word usage or phrase is understood by a community of speakers, it's "correct" - or at least, not wrong. If the answer to "D'ya get me?" is yes, then anything else is entirely subjective.
(Source: I've got a degree in linguistics, which is generally about as useful as it sounds).