Jun 23 2010, 01:23 PM
QUOTE(Thinkingfox @ Feb 20 2010, 02:52 AM)
If you had a dispute with a friend over the spelling of a word, and a few dictionaries give different spellings to the word, which would be the definitive one? And why?
Personally, I was taught to take the Oxford English Dictionary as the definitive source of English (or British English at least). The reason is that English originates from England, and the most revered linguistic institution for English is Oxford University and the Oxford University Press, which is the publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary. Would it be possible for these experts to be wrong? Who sets the rules in a language? And what gives them the authority to do so?
The same goes for Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka for Malay, and other institutions for Chinese, Spanish, Hindi, Urdu, Arabic, French, German etc.
It is very possible for experts to be wrong. And in the case of language, there isn't an 'authority' that dictates what's right or wrong. Language is a fluid thing, and things change depending on context and usage, even the rules of grammar. To determine if something is 'right' or 'wrong', you need to frame it in the context it is used. Colloquial english would be 'wrong' in a formal letter, but within a social setting where it is used, it's correct. Even colloquial language has its own set of rules, which are different from the rules of formal language. Personally, I was taught to take the Oxford English Dictionary as the definitive source of English (or British English at least). The reason is that English originates from England, and the most revered linguistic institution for English is Oxford University and the Oxford University Press, which is the publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary. Would it be possible for these experts to be wrong? Who sets the rules in a language? And what gives them the authority to do so?
The same goes for Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka for Malay, and other institutions for Chinese, Spanish, Hindi, Urdu, Arabic, French, German etc.
I think Malaysians are too used to Dewan Bahasa dictating language rules that they don't realise language is more complex and nuanced than a rigid set of rules, let alone a rigid set of rules defined by a "single authority".
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