Why do the French pay particular regard to grammar and we do not?

Question

It's not 'fink' it's think. It's not 'fort' it's thought. I suppose 'fink' will become part of the dictionary in the not too distant future.....I get annoyed that people who have good speaking voices are considered 'posh'. FOR INSTANCE Susie in BB and Joana Lumley who both speak beautifully.
'I fink vat all skools shud b shut dwn who dont teech or spk proper inglish'.
P.S. Dialect accepted ...... I am not asking for everyone to be Susie or a Joanna but 'give me break' the whole nation seems to be sliding into a grammatical abys

The people here are not answering my question properly. I think it is do with standards. No one seems to care about teaching grammar. We DO NOT have to be posh. I am not objecting to regional dialect. I am protesting about grammar. and the words people use which are aberations of english like 'fink' and 'fort'. Where did it all come from?

I mean specifically using f instead of th

Answer 1

IMHO, because they feel their language and culture are under attack, and they are very proud of the French language - it's an important and central part of their culture, whereas to us language is just a tool - a way to communicate and get the job done.

Answer 2

Grammar? Everything you've talked about here is accent and dialect. Many accents and dialects have more prestige than others - for example, the BBC, or RP accent is widely viewed as an accent of upper class people.

The French don't pay more attention to grammar; just because language evolves does not mean that it becomes more or less grammatical. The grammar simply changes.

I think that regional accents are a lot more acceptable these days and because of mass media, they are broadcast nationwide. Why do you think Channel 4 chose the annoying Geordie bloke to do the voice over for BB? Probably because it will strike a chord with the people watching. No, they're not all Geordies, but people with regional accents. It's a marker of social class and status.

People often use accents and dialects to announce that they're part of a social group; this can have the effect of distancing that person from others who don't belong to that social group, or conversely, bringing them closer to people who do belong to it.

I don't agree that we're sliding into the grammatical abyss. Language evolves to allow us to adequately describe the world around us. This change is neither good or bad; it just happens. Even the French, who impose restrictions on language change (called prescriptivism), must allow some change in their language. Otherwise, how are they supposed to describe the latest developments in mobile phones, the newest coined phrase to describe something conveniently?

Essentially, your preference for the RP accent spoken by Lumley is a subjective opinion. Others might not like it, might think its snobbish. They might prefer earthy regional accents like those in Lancashire because they identify with it and again, because it marks the speakers of it out as being from the same social class/group. Its just an argument of opinion, which is pretty pointless really.

Answer 3

I like that bit "grammatical abyss"
As for the French I don't think they pay particular regard to anything, however that's a different story!
The thing I have never been able to 'get my head around' is why we need to know what a verb is or what an adjective is or a noun or pronoun?? Who cares?
If I can speak a language or write and read a language why do I need to know all that cra*?
I agree this txt thing is completely OTT , in fact some one on this forum was concerned because the txt on his mobile phone wasn't working, his question implied his concern, he didn't know what to do! In reply I suggested he learn again how to actually speak to people! I never got his 10 points, cant think why?

Answer 4

the thought non-public wealth creates jobs is stuffed with crap. Bush tax cuts in stress for extra desirable than a decade, the place are the jobs? with the aid of sheer data, the backside ninety% of persons in any state produce extra call for than the coolest 10%. agencies and persons do no longer hire human beings as a results of fact they have distinctive money and are feeling beneficiant, they hire human beings as a results of fact they'd desire to with a view to maintain or strengthen their salary. the way this works is thru way of client call for. without large variety of customers or in the event that they are no longer spending sufficient, there's no longer sufficient call for for agencies to strengthen and hire extra. If customers do no longer arise with the money for, no person expands. Take a lesson from Henry Ford. He paid human beings no longer in basic terms what they'd take, he would have paid them a lot much less, yet he paid them sufficient that they'd have sufficient money the vehicles they made, increasing call for.

Answer 5

English is the only language in the world with the "th" consonant cluster and that sound. Germans say "zee" or "zuh instead of "the".

Answer 6

The French are more focused on intellect and education as well as Russians,Germans and Chinese descendants than Americans are. we rely on technology

Answer 7

why do french make funny toast, and whats up with the french kiss... why don't they just call it making out.. and what about french fries... i aint never seen no french cat eatin' them ....right

Answer 8

because we've evolved into a society of convenience. If people understand what you say, why does it matter how you say it.