All languages have some form of unwritten macro-"rules" that govern the basic functions of the language and allow one to judge what's "correct". (e.g. English speakers know "I the store to went" is wrong). If rules like that went away, the language would fail in its function to facilitate communication. What makes these types of rules interesting is that all native speakers know them intrinsically; they don't have to be taught in school. The most grammatically illiterate English speaker knows basic word order and knows that a sentence like "I the store to went" is nonsensical (even though it's the correct word order for Japanese).
Other grammatical rules that are less about basic functionality and more about adhering to a standardized elevated form of the language are less crucial (one can still communicate effectively by saying "we was going to the store" even though it's not standard), but loss of rules like this would mean we'd all have to learn other dialects to read and understand each other. Having grammatical rules to stick to ensures there's one "proper" form of the language that we all recognize as such and use as a bridge between dialect groups.
If you mean me, not at all. I was being as serious as a preacher.
A key principle one learns if one studies ANY linguistics at all is there are no "better" languages/dialects. The only reason people think so is because some languages/dialects are associated with groups with high social status (French, "CNN English") and others are associated with groups with low social status (Hungarian, African-American Vernacular English).
Perhaps O-unkow was joking, but his joke highlighted how ignorant most people are with the real principles governing language.
This post was edited by OldSchoolTheSKOSlives at November 24, 2016 11:05 AM MST
Old School, I meant you. As I pointed out recently on another discussion (which you ignored), you have a habit of deliberately misspelling words to annoy others. I suspect you do it to be sarcastic. If not, why else do you do it?
@Andy B -- Um, it's called a "typo", which is common slang contraction of "typographical error."
That has nothing to do with my lampooning those who lack the self-awareness to recognize their attacks on the political left/defense of the political right are based upon ideology, not evidence or consistency of standards.