And ther is so gret diversite
In Englissh and in writyng of oure tonge,
So prey I God that non myswrite the,
Ne the mysmetre for defaute of tonge;
And red wherso thow be, or elles songe,
That thow be understonde, God I biseche!
Troilus and Criseyde, verses 1786-98
Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1380)
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For shame! deny that thou bear'st love to any, Who for thyself art so unprovident. Grant, if thou wilt, thou art beloved of many, But that thou none lovest is most evident; For thou art so possess'd with murderous hate 5 That 'gainst thyself thou stick'st not to conspire. Seeking that beauteous roof to ruinate Which to repair should be thy chief desire. O, change thy thought, that I may change my mind! Shall hate be fairer lodged than gentle love? 10 Be, as thy presence is, gracious and kind, Or to thyself at least kind-hearted prove:
Sonnet 10
William Shakespeare (c. 1609)
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The voices blend and fuse in clouded silence: silence that is the infinite of space: and swiftly, silently the soul is wafted over regions of cycles of generations that have lived. A region where grey twilight ever descends, never falls on wide sagegreen pasturefields, shedding her dusk, scattering a perennial dew of stars. She follows her mother with ungainly steps, a mare leading her fillyfoal. Twilight phantoms are they, yet moulded in prophetic grace of structure, slim shapely haunches, a supple tendonous neck, the meek apprehensive skull. They fade, sad phantoms: all is gone. Agendath is a waste land, a home of screechowls and the sandblind upupa. Netaim, the golden, is no more. And on the highway of the clouds they come, muttering thunder of rebellion, the ghosts of beasts. Huuh! Hark! Huuh!
Ulysees
James Joyce (1922)
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Ah suppose man, ah'm too much ay a perfectionist, ken? It's likesay, if things go a bit dodgy, ah jist cannae be bothered, y'know
Trainspotting
Irvine Welsh (1993)
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som ppl (usu fogey technophobes) hav complained dat d recnt surge of txt msgN, & emails hav begun ruining d eng lngwij. I hav demonstrated abof d eng launguage hz alredi devLpD fR beyond wot wz considRD gud eng, evN n pieces of literature.
I cn c, withn d NXT 10 yr.z, Oxford, o Collins, o 1 of d othR reputable publishers, releasing d 1st DXNRE, & thus devLpN d lngwij stil furthr.
it shud b noted, dat British & Irish literists had Bgan eschewing d traditions of eng Grammar since d turn of d 20th centRe (James Joyce, especially), & G. B. Shaw L monE n Hs wiL 2 advance d idea of a 42 letR ABC.
So, hEr we R thN in2 a nu millenium, & a nu breed of eng hz devLpD organically, hu iz any1 2 fite it?
"Here's to English...." blog post, as translated by
transl8it.comJames I McAnespy, 13 March 2006
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Some people (usually fogey technophobes) have complained that the recent surge of Text messaging, and emails have begun ruining the English Language. Well, as I have demonstrated above, the English launguage has already developed far beyond what was considered good English, even in pieces of literature.
I can see, within the next ten years, Oxford, or Collins, or one of the other reputable publishers, releasing the first DXNRE, and thus developing the language still further.
It should be noted, that British and Irish literists had began eschewing the traditions of English Grammar since the turn of the 20th century (James Joyce, especially), and G. B. Shaw left money in his will to advance the idea of a 42 letter alphabet. (A case in the English courts, [1958] 1 All E.R. 245)
So, here we are then into a new millenium, and a new breed of English has developed organically, who is anyone to fight it?
Jesus Christ: will probably be in attendance
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