the portal

Image : http://www.tonyfugere.com/funny/ 18/7/08 Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors).

Exciting news! The time has come to announce the winner of the ‘Most Commented on Post’ competition for term 2, 2008. And the winner is…Tyronec! This prolific contributor wrote about the decline of English in his post Moden Inglish , attracting 16 comments on this controversial subject. Clearly it’s something Scotch boys feel strongly about.

Congratulations Tyronec! Come and see me to collect your yummy prize.

There is also a consolation prize for Gilla, runner up in the competition with his post ‘Poetry for Dummies’, which inspired 11 responses. Come and collect your prize too, Gilla!

The competition will run again this term, so start thinking of topics which might ignite passions in your fellow students or staff. Remember, they do need to be related to books, writing, reading, words or the literary world.

Good luck!

Mrs Sweeney

Much debate has focussed on issues such as the new ‘teenager’ edition of Shakespeare, as well as other subjects regarding ‘Moden Inglish’ and the like, although to present a common theme amongst these topics I would have to head straight toward the horizon of ‘the classics or the modern?’ debate. The two, or perhaps more, sides of the argument consist of the restoration of old literature, ‘proper’ English and tales of great depth, and evocation. When juxtaposed to more modern works we see more simplistic writing (both in style and in subject), however many believe that ending with this stereotype is simply preposterous, and hence, we should create a new angle of perspective on the debate.

Wandering toward those great authors of the twenty-first century, we see that it is possible to create works of art (disguised as literature) in modern times and with our modern interpretation of a language that has been twisted and turned throughout years of constant change.

Perhaps we should admire both sides of the debate, accept that English has changed, and accordingly the style of writing has changed. But does this mean that it has become less meaningful? Well, I’ll leave that thought in your hands…

Despite the arbitrary lack of structure to this piece, I find it necessary to now wander off to the other side of the debate. Has it ever occurred to you that perhaps (beyond all imagination), the classics aren’t that amazing, aren’t that sensational? It has become apparent to some (definately not to me!) that some classic works of literature are stereotyped, and given the hyperbolic judgement of greatness. Perhaps this is true. Most likely, it isn’t.

I leave this muddled, and awfully over-complicated subject in your hands. As readers of both fine and terrible literature, I hope that you will search beyond the realms of knowledge to find me an answer!

Posted by tyronec

 Posted by Tyrone

The decline in the proper use of the English language has resulted in various forms of ‘computer language’, new acronyms, and an unfathomable amount of unnecessary slang. In addition, general grammatical rules – for example, the use of the apostrophe – are being abandoned to an age of instant communication and fast-paced business. Some of the major spoken flaws, although some of these are not publicly recognised (even to great intellectuals), include:

‘for free’ – greatest offender – commonly used on commercial television

‘have’ replaced by ‘got’ – for example, ‘I got a dog at home’

‘peoples’ – this is a word, although some deny it, but it is generally misused

like – like is meant to mean ’similar to’, yet some use it as a conjunction

And the list goes on…