A new "academy" in the UK hopes to be consulted about correct English.
The Academy of English plans to "sit in judgment" on what it considers incorrect forms of English – especially "text speak" (or "txt spk"), the abbreviated English widely used in SMS messaging to and from mobile devices.
The academy is the brainchild of the Queen's English Society, a group formed in 1972 to address a perceived decline in English.
The QES hopes eventually to be officially recognized in the UK, along similar lines to France's L'Académie française, which has been regulating the French language since 1635.
"People misunderstand things if language is not used correctly," Rhea Williams of the QES told The Times (London). Complaining about the changing state of grammar teaching in schools, she added that "Now there are a lot of teachers who do not know the rules themselves. There are mispronunciations and misunderstandings galore."
Academy of English founder Martin Estinel said that misusing words and misplacing emphasis in a sentence were "going haywire in the language," and that "at the moment, anything goes. Let's set down a clear standard of what is good, correct, proper English."
Among critics of the academy are Jack Bovill of the Spelling Society, who told The Times he had sympathy with the idea, but argued that "variations in spelling [occur] regardless of what people wish to say about it."
He added that there was "overwhelming evidence of fluidity" in the English language.
07 June 2010
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