Just Thinking... Applying the Evolving Nature of Language

I grew up with a father who was both a talented writer and a stickler for accuracy. I used to write letters home from camp only to have them returned with red pen highlighting my mistakes. It sounds harsher than it was. I learned a great deal from him – namely to respect the English language and how it was intended to be used. I too am a stickler for certain things  - irregardless is not a word, you lend things to your friend you don’t borrow them to her, there are fewer people, not less but there is less water not fewer. But, I also developed all sorts of ways to avoid writing in times of uncertainty. My favorites?

• Those fill in the blank pre-form letters for kids to send home from camp
• Hand-written notes where you simply write faster and messier when you are uncertain of the accurate spelling of the word
• The telephone

And, then I realized that language was actually something that evolves – not that this was an excuse for inaccuracy but that there was room for some negotiation, perhaps. This was a bittersweet realization for me. On the one hand I was shaken by the fact that something I considered to be foundational in nature, like an original masterpiece, would change overtime. On the other hand, I appreciated the recognition that modern contributions are significant enough to affect something as core as language.

It also meant, selfishly, there would be a world in which I would play where the red edits on my letters might indicate a generational difference rather than an error. A world where our “go-forward plan” might include an evening at a “gastropub” to recover from a day spent exploring the “systemic risk” associated with new strategies designed to combat the weak demand for loans given the “underwater” state of consumers. And, one where our “aha moments” are coming from successful “cloud computing” and our “bucket lists” include writing long-hand letters to our fathers because while it was important for me to learn to respect the English language as he knew it, it isn’t really that important that he learn it as I know it.

But if instead of a 73 year-old retired banker, he was actively working in a bank or credit union with employees and customers of all generations, I would suggest the red pens be put away and the “learnings” happen all around.

 

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