Language pedants hew to an oral tradition of shibboleths that have no basis in logic or style, that have been defied by great writers for centuries, and that have been disavowed by every thoughtful usage manual.
Interpretation
Language rules can be arbitrary and often don't reflect effective communication principles.
In this quote, Steven Pinker criticizes the strict adherence to outdated language rules that are often upheld by language purists. He argues that these arbitrary standards lack logical rationale and have been challenged by accomplished writers throughout history, reinforcing the idea that language evolves and should not be constrained by rigid dictates that may not enhance clarity or expression.
In practice
In a seminar about effective writing, one could emphasize the importance of understanding that not all language rules are absolute by citing Pinker's quote.
The foundation of individual rights is the assumption that people have wants and needs and are authorities on what those wants and needs are. If people's stated desires were just some kind of erasable inscription or reprogrammable brainwashing, any atrocity could be justified.
The linguistic clumsiness of tourists and students might be the price we pay for the linguistic genius we displayed as babies, just as the decrepitude of age in the price we pay for the vigor of youth.
If we are not to abandon values such as peace and equality, or our commitments to science and truth, then we must pry these values away from claims about our psychological makeup that are vulnerable to being proven false.
We adults protect ourselves with laws, police, workplace regulations and social norms and there is no conceivable reason why children should be left more vulnerable, other that laziness or callousness in considering what life is like from their point of view.
The idea that children are passive repositories to be shaped by their parents has been massively overstated. A child's peer group is a far greater determinant of its development and achievements than parental aspiration.
Reason is non-negotiable. Try to argue against it, or to exclude it from some realm of knowledge, and you've already lost the argument, because you're using reason to make your case. ... We don't "believe" in reason.
If the education and studies of children were suited to their inclinations and capacities, many would be made useful members of society that otherwise would make no figure in it.
I want to get into the educational DNA of American culture. I want 10 percent of the common culture, more or less, to be black.
No man understands a deep book until he has seen and lived at least part of its contents.
I know what I should love to do - to build a study; to write, and to think of nothing else. I want to bury myself in a den of books. I want to saturate myself with the elements of which they are made, and breathe their atmosphere until I am of it. Not a bookworm, being which is to give off no utterances; but a man in the world of writing - one with a pen that shall stop men to listen to it, whether they wish to or not.
Respect children because they're human beings and they deserve respect, and they'll grow up to be better people.
Do you train for passing tests or do you train for creative inquiry?
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