I hear many complaints about bad English use. Some of these may be justified, but many are pure pedantry.

What is English? It’s the first language of 322 Million people worldwide. In addition, there are more than 200 Million second-language users of English. It’s a versatile and powerful language. However, that doesn’t make it any better than any other language. There is no thought, no idea, no concept and no nuance of meaning that cannot be expressed in any language in the world.

English, together with most modern languages, is alive and is defined by its users and it changes and develops around their needs. It is not constrained by stuffy tomes on bookshelves, no matter how learned the authors. 

English language is not one language, however. There are many significant subsets of English (American, Australian, British, Canadian, Indian, South African and West Indian, amongst others). Within these are smaller subsets; some local, some related to age or profession. Word meanings, usage, spelling and grammar vary between these subsets. Pronunciation probably varies more widely than most of the other factors.

Today’s clichés were yesterday’s bright, new and appropriate phrases. The pedants would have language stuck in a single mould, but the reality is that linguistic change is inevitable and unstoppable. Some words and phrases may have a short life cycle; others may become a permanent part of mainstream language. Most grammarians have finally surrendered in their previous insistence on Latinate plurals. The same is true of the ‘prohibition’ on placing prepositions at the end of a sentence. 

The verbing of nouns will continue no matter how much the purists may decry the practice. Because traditionalists may wish that the language was locked in the mould of a decade ago (or twenty, thirty, fifty, or even a hundred years ago) doesn’t mean they’re right. 

Dictionaries are descriptive, not prescriptive. A dictionary illustrates the way people use words. The extent of such usage and the perceived ‘authority’ of the dictionary are usually linked. Some dictionaries rush to include new words, others require broader usage before inclusion. Some dictionaries, particularly Chambers, allow words formed by less usual back-formations that may not yet meet the requirements of other works.

Lovers of the English language should be vital users of that language to communicate effectively, and not self-appointed, opinionated pedants trying to define how language must be used.