We’re living through a period of transition. SM introduced a new firm of written language. When I was growing up there was a clear distinction between the spoken word and the written word which was more formal and correct. You didn’t write a contraction like “can’t” except as dialogue.
On SM the established norm is to write as language is spoken, in a highly informal way without too many punctuation marks. And for many people this is now the only reading they do.
The invention of the printing press, led to standardisation of spelling and to gate keeping of written media by publishers. I grew up at a time when any printed material I encountered had been looked over, at some point, by an editor. Now I can read whole books that have been self published.
Language is changing at speed now, and it seems even faster because growth was artificially slowed by the stranglehold of publishing conventions. I’m fascinated by the Gen Alpha’s who are quietly developing words and phrases that only make sense to themselves. The devolution of phrases and words bothers me because I imagine everyone just grunting in a generation or two, but we know language is innate and that can’t actually happen.
Some of the great poets and authors like Gerard Manley Hopkins and J D Salinger were challenging the conventions in ways that would barely register today. Terrible to think that books could be a historical curiosity in a couple of generations.
In the meantime I’m off to hug my dictionary of etymology. I wonder if there’s an updated version due that will reference changes across 4chan, Facebook etc .