Surviving Gazza...

[Cal]

Sorry cal mate, look back at all of my posts and you'll never see an angry post from me but when people start picking holes in your English instead of constructing an argument it just annoyed me

I'm joking, mate.

Get furious in the shoutbox at Goat.

 

[Robin Sisland]

I was quite enjoying it .

As sad as it is to see Gazza's decline I find it hard to sympathise too much with alcoholics. I know it's a disease, but, maybe it's just something built into me. Always seemed more self-inflicted than anything else.

Me too, quite refreshing after the last three pages.

If you want to put your last post on a new thread I'll happily reply.

 

[Nebbiolo]

It's all kicking off here. But I for one would like to see Robin and Neo take this to a new thread. As far as I can see, we're getting into whether language can be taken in any direction that one desires, or whether, as Robin mentions, there are rules which language relies on for its existence.

I avoided doing philosophy of language at college merely because it looked so hard (I think I did something on old Socrates instead). But I can tell you that it is a fascinating area and one in which every position taken has been attacked by credible thinkers.

I think we might have a realism V. anti-realism debate, boys.

Oh, and Robin, I think you you went too far with Basil. If you look at the majority of his posts, I think you will agree that his grasp of English is actually very good.

But that Gazza was ace, mate! Best since Best (hehe)!

 

[Slight_Return]

I do.
Quick translation:
Grammar rules only exist because we allow them to. If we understand each other then the rules we've mutually accepted are sufficient.

Which goes somewhat further than the more generally accepted 'descriptive' view of 'correct grammar' being a description of what is mutually accepted by the wider language group as being correct.

NeoNaoNeo's argument falls down because without a generally accepted description of a standard form there's nothing to stop the language fracturing into myriad mutually unintelligible argots.

A frightening prospect, as anyone who's been to the North East can surely confirm.

"into a myriad of mutually unintelligible argots"?

just for my own education of course.

 

[Robin Sisland]

"into a myriad of mutually unintelligible argots"?

Slang dialects which become so different from each other that speakers of can't understand speakers of another and vice versa. One of the mechanisms by which languages are created by branching off from existing languages.

 

[Slight_Return]

Slang dialects which become so different from each other that speakers of can't understand speakers of another and vice versa. One of the mechanisms by which languages are created by branching off from existing languages.

"into myriad mutually unintelligible argots. "

I put the 'a' and 'of' in there.

 

[TsarDiniyar]

I see this everytime I think of Gazza, I was well excited.

Leyton Orient, [Poor language removed] oblitorated them single handedly.

sort yourself out lid.

 

[Reidy's Bottle Of Grecian]

has teppic been using this thread for his language students, ffs sake i thought i was in a lesson for a moment there.

 

[Sharpys top lip]

Can we stop talking about grammer an spelling. I feel like every one is looking at me.










go on, you can all [Poor language removed] off. Nothing to see here!!

 

[Whitebootman]

This thread reminds me of an old gag.

Teacher. Whats happened to your grammer.

Pupil. She went shopping with me mum.

 

[Robin Sisland]

"into myriad mutually unintelligible argots. "

I put the 'a' and 'of' in there.

Both are correct.

Anyway I think where Gazza - and a lot of footballers - went/go wrong is to think that having earned a bit of cash and got on the telly they can dispense with anything resembling education or intellectual effort.

I can remember in the 70s lots of professionals had business sidelines. Ian Callaghan had an insurance brokers, Brian Labone had his family engineering company (both just down the road from where I grew up), Howard Kendal had a sportsware shop in Walton(?). I can even remember the club running business training courses for the players to help them when they finally retired.
There's been some harrowing tales of players who got it wrong - Ex Southampton captain Ron Davies living in a caravan on a building site in the US unable to work without a hip replacement he couldn't afford being one that springs to mind.
I guess by Gazza's time the understanding was that they were earning enough not to need to make an effort. But unfortunately for him his inner demons and his divorce at into his wad. Whereas nowadays all they need is a little restraint and a decent accountant.