There are three stages in scientific discovery. First, people deny that it is true, then they deny that it is important; finally they credit the wrong person.
Bill BrysonRead
Those who sniff decay in every shift of sense or alteration of usage do the language no service. Too often for such people the notion of good English has less to do with expressing ideas clearly than with making words conform to some arbitrary pattern.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques those who resist language changes, suggesting they hinder communication.
In this quote, Bill Bryson reflects on the importance of language as a living, evolving entity. He critiques individuals who resist changes in language, indicating that their stringent adherence to outdated or arbitrary standards can obstruct the clarity of expression. Rather than enhancing communication, such attitudes toward language create barriers to effectively conveying ideas, illustrating that the essence of good English lies in its ability to adapt and reflect contemporary usage.
Themes
LanguageCommunicationExpressionEvolutionClarity
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about modern slang and its role in culture.
More from Bill Bryson
All quotes →For most of us the rules of English grammar are at best a dimly remembered thing. But even for those who make the rules, grammatical correctitude sometimes proves easier to urge than to achieve. Among the errors cited in this book are a number committed by some of the leading authorities of this century. If men such as Fowler and Bernstein and Quirk and Howard cannot always get their English right, is it reasonable to expect the rest of us to?
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I became quietly seized with that nostalgia that overcomes you when you have reached the middle of your life and your father has recently died and it dawns on you that when he went he took some of you with him.
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Open your refrigerator door, and you summon forth more light than the total amount enjoyed by most households in the 18th century. The world at night, for much of history, was a very dark place indeed.
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The universe is not only queerer than we suppose; it is queerer than we can suppose
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My first rule of consumerism is never to buy anything you can't make your children carry.
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