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I don't think some things are evolution (like, specifically, "could of"). Evolution is a refinement, a honing, of something. The use of "could of" is an illogical regression in that it unnecessarily creates a new meaning for the word "of" that has no logical etymology other than "sounding a bit like" a contraction of another word. It breaks well-established rules about grammar, tense, verb forms and contractions. It makes the sense of a sentence harder, not easier, to understand. It's just foul and those who use it should be summarily put out of their misery. Not that I've got strong feelings about it of course. 
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Misuse of words? That was part of an early "political correctness" effort which, even at the time, I knew would come to no good end.
It was referred to as Ebonics [^] (or Eubonics) - as a way to accept and excuse badly spoken English by some minority groups. Supposedly their culture. Note that the example may not be safe for all workplaces.
The real point is that misuse of an corruption of the spoken language were immediately transformed into a cultural right. Well - yes - you can speak any way you wish. Just don't expect everyone else to say that it's just fine.
Now, ignorance is quite acceptable, even coveted. People make fun of nerds and geeks. Probably so that they don't have to accept their own wasted existence. (hows that for extremism ! ? !)
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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John R. Shaw wrote: But it is reaching a ridiculous extent; are their employers just ignorant or just don't care (more likely they are just as ignorant or think we are).
In the day of grammar and spell checkers, it's unbelievable. Personally, I think it comes down to lack of education.
BTW:
John R. Shaw wrote: Have fun taring apart the above
"tearing" 
taring: to adjust (a scale on which an empty container has been placed) so as to reduce the displayed weight to zero
Also, some interesting definitions I didn't know about regarding "tare": a weed of grain fields especially of biblical times that is usually held to be the darnel
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I say it started with spellcheckers. People figured it's now its job to correct them. This is how people devolve.
But then, Twitter happened, and the quest for instant news meant editors (and related researchers and fact-checkers) were out of a job.
I get scoffed at when I say I hate using a device with an on-screen keyboard because they're so much more tedious to use than a real one, but then these same people go out of their way to use all sorts of shortcuts because spelling out words in full is...so much more tedious than on a real keyboard.
Oh, and it's definitely not just English.
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You're sounding a bit like your semi-name-sake, George Bernard Shaw, per Pygmalion.John R. Shaw wrote: echnically; I do not speak English, I speak American,
When I read this, I was certain of some hidden genetic connection.
However - it's quite true that the ignoramus' are getting the upper hand. The implication is that, with the passage of time (and I do not mean much time) their versioning will become the correct version.
As I often do, I'll blame the Dumb Phone generation for hurrying this all along. An awful lot of posters think that the abbreviations in text-messages are, in fact, correct (or are too lazy to give a damn). You can see a bunch of it in Q&A - and for that matter, the primary clergyman in my house of worship, a man who's mastered multiple languages, uses these atrocities in his emails. "U no what I mean".
On TV they have their idiocy at two levels. One is improper English or even use of the wrong word. This is exacerbated by the fact that they now rely upon talking heads for (by way of example) the news broadcasts. Once upon a time they actually hired people with a grasp on what's going on. Now they'll sit a pair together - who always watch one another speak - and mutually admire one another when found to be ignorant or incapable of some grade-school level computations/contemplation.
The misrepresentation of science? That would really get me started.
The language will evolve - that's for certain. Alas, we have allocated the control and direction to those least capable of administering the changes.
Most likely, this is business as usual for our species.
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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W∴ Balboos, GHB wrote: On TV they have their idiocy at two levels. One is improper English or even use of the wrong word. This is exacerbated by the fact that they now rely upon talking heads for (by way of example) the news broadcasts. Once upon a time they actually hired people with a grasp on what's going on.
This is why I am ecstatic that Ms. Norah O'Donnell was promoted to "Uncle Walter's" Chair of Journalism. Finally, one of the major networks has promoted someone of Walter Cronkite's caliber to the pinnacle of their broadcast news.
__________________
Lord, grant me the serenity to accept that there are some things I just can’t keep up with, the determination to keep up with the things I must keep up with, and the wisdom to find a good RSS feed from someone who keeps up with what I’d like to, but just don’t have the damn bandwidth to handle right now.
© 2009, Rex Hammock
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Funny you should say that.
I realize it's the scripts given her, but the CBS network news became too much "mommy" news - by which I mean a combination of excess human interest and comments that were poor.
Of course, it might not be the writers.
I moved over to NBC Network News (Lester Holt). He's being embarrassingly used for prolonged teasers and commentary in the preceding half-hours local news.
So I stream.
| Ravings en masse^ |
|---|
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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There are lots of causes and they are piling up on each other now. It seems to me that using horrendous grammar has become stylish. It's become so bad that dictionaries are now adding ridiculous words and alternative definitions. For example, literally is now a synonym for figuratively. WTF?
"They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers! Can I get an amen?"
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OK, it is official; the world has figuativelyliterally gone nuts.
INTP
"Program testing can be used to show the presence of bugs, but never to show their absence." - Edsger Dijkstra
"I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks. " - Daniel Boone
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One factor to consider is survivorship bias. That is, you are exposed to a select sampling of formal writing from a century ago. There may also be a bias in the material. When I read biographical material or histories, there are plenty of examples of bad grammar and spelling in the actual diaries and/or letters of people.
Another factor is confirmation bias. There are plenty of examples of bad grammar and spelling in news reports from a century ago (though I suspect there is a correlation between time-to-publish and errors. In other words, newspapers would have more errors than magazines, which would have more errors than books.)
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You have a very good point there; about my bias. The point I am getting at is that in my lifetime the written word has gone down hill. The advent of modern technology has both helped and hurt us, when it comes to writing. I've have seen 'he' and 'her' used in a paragraph referring to the same individual. My least favorite issue is when a sentence makes no sense at all, you have to go back to decipher it to figure-out what they were trying to say. (usually due to lack of commas)
INTP
"Program testing can be used to show the presence of bugs, but never to show their absence." - Edsger Dijkstra
"I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks. " - Daniel Boone
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The "he" and "her" - or rather, "she" - issue (which I have seen a number of times too) though is surely a deliberate attempt to be "politically correct" rather than a simple misuse of language. It is of course ludicrous and clumsy, and even worse than the proliferating official style guides that prohibit either of those words, recommending "them" instead.
He's literally so cool she's hot; it's sick how bad she is.
The use of complete opposite meanings in (youth) slang is maybe part of the "rebelliousness" of youth, though it seems a fairly recent phenomenon. I certainly can't remember - or imagine - any such use 50 years ago!
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...in VS 2019 v16.6 and strangely can't find the "Button" control in the toolbox, really Microsoft!!
Exception up = new Exception("Something is really wrong.");
throw up;
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Buttons? Who needs buttons when we got ICONS ?
Software rusts. Simon Stephenson, ca 1994. So does this signature. me, 2012
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u must be very brave to do such things...
Caveat Emptor.
"Progress doesn't come from early risers – progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things." Lazarus Long
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I checked this and you're right.
Right click the Toolbox window and select "Reset Toolbox".
It should show up now 
The reset messed up some icons on the Toolbox, but a second reset fixed that too.
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Nope, still not there...
Exception up = new Exception("Something is really wrong.");
throw up;
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Weird, that worked for me.
I'm out of ideas then 
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Didn't you know, buttons have been replaced by velcro!
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Last I heard on one of an MS' Win?-team teaser pre-announcements ... in response to a message I posted ... was Nov, 2020 for something as usable as WinForm Controls.
«One day it will have to be officially admitted that what we have christened reality is an even greater illusion than the world of dreams.» Salvador Dali
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Zoom murder: A son stabbed and killed his father during a meeting, police say - CNN[^]
The response from the competition was swift and fierce:
- Microsoft: This would never have happened if they used Skype. Mainly because it rarely works.
- Apple: Police would have been able to catch the suspect 15 minutes earlier if they'd used Facetime instead, because Apple products track your every move.
- Google: They should have used Google Meets. It's been in beta for only 10 years.
- Signal: Stupid kid. If he'd used Signal, this wouldn't have even made the news.
/ravi
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oops sorry about the news. But the responses are funny.
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Why did CNN reach out to Zoom? Are they suggesting that the Zoom application could have done something to stop the son?
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Ravi Bhavnani wrote: Apple products track your every move
You're gonna shatter some people's world with a statement like this...
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