Disse midaldrende sprogpurister får mig altid til at tænke på en økonom, der med sin geniale model i hånden sidder og råber ad aktiekurserne: ”Det er forkert, sådan skal det ikke gå”. De har ikke fattet pointen: Sproget er levende og i konstant udvikling. At skamride sin barndoms lærdoms kæpheste har ingen mening: ”Stop toget, vi vil af.” - Det er patetisk - . Sprog er et virvar af sociolekt, dialekt, slang, andre sprog, fagterminologi, tilfældige lyde, attitude, fri fantasi – what have we. Klart, man kan fucke up; mene et og sige noget andet, men en effet, hvis du ikke bryder dig om måden noget bliver sagt på, må du bare leve med smerten. Sprog bliver aldrig entydigt, aldrig rent, og kan først fastfryses, når ingen længere taler det.
Grammatik er et fremragende redskab til at lære nye sprog, men kan aldrig være andet end en ham sproget før eller senere vil kaste af sig. De grammatiske fejl er den sproglige udviklings frø, dagens udbredte misforståelser er morgendagens grammatik.
Så fat det dog!
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Monday, April 03, 2006
Bicycle helmets and procreation
On of the major issues in the Danish media these days is the problem, that only about 6% of the bicycling population use bicycle helmets. This leads to the horrorfying result that 1600 people a year hit their heads when taking a tumble. 800 of these are seriously concussed and a few even damaged permanently. In a population of approximately 5.3 million, this means that about 1 in 7.000 will knock their heads on a yearly basis. This is considered so grave an issue, that legislation is being considered. By comparison an amarican is 20 times more likely to be raped, robbed, assaulted or murdered by someone with a gun. Denmark is a quiet country!
My thoughts are, that the chances of a concussion are so low, that from a progenic point of view, it is actually more dangerous to wear a bicycle helmet than to leave it off.
Anyone who reacts to a threat level this low will of course be a rather fearful creature who lacks trust in his or her own ability to navigate safely through trafic. Whereas courage is an aphrodisiac when seasoned with a certain amount of common sense, fearfulness is not something most people look for in a potential partner. When this fearfulness is signalled with a rather ridiculous hat that leaves you with a bad hair day every day, it becomes a problem.
The inevitable result will be, that these fearful individuals will be largely ignored as potential partners and will be forced to interbreed: thus, creating an increasingly timid sub-race of man. As fear is enforced by breeding and upbringing through generations this race will slowly withdraw from human society, becoming ever more isolated and shy of any contact with normal humans, which might entail danger. As they slowly withdraw into more secluded areas - forced underground as it were, the process will accelerate, and as the genepool diminishes, racial traits will become increasingly pronounced, and it is not unlikely, that the primary racial traits: Timidity and ability to hide will become the desired traits. As size is a factor in hiding, it is likely that these people will be of ever diminishing stature and might eventually shift to nocturnal creatures.
This invariably leads my thoughts to Santa's elves, who probably started out as normal people, indistinguishable from their neighbours except for the habit of wearing practical but rather silly looking hats. Santa's elves are now creatures of legend, and so will Danes be in a few generations if this ridiculous law is passed.
Thus, my advice is to visit Denmark in the near future, while it is still a country whose population is tall and athletic. All too soon we may be reduced to fearful creatures of diminutive proportions wearing silly hats, who venture out only at night. If this law is passed it might be a sign, that timidity has already taken over, and the process is unstoppable. Woe to Denmark and its timid inhabitants.
My thoughts are, that the chances of a concussion are so low, that from a progenic point of view, it is actually more dangerous to wear a bicycle helmet than to leave it off.
Anyone who reacts to a threat level this low will of course be a rather fearful creature who lacks trust in his or her own ability to navigate safely through trafic. Whereas courage is an aphrodisiac when seasoned with a certain amount of common sense, fearfulness is not something most people look for in a potential partner. When this fearfulness is signalled with a rather ridiculous hat that leaves you with a bad hair day every day, it becomes a problem.
The inevitable result will be, that these fearful individuals will be largely ignored as potential partners and will be forced to interbreed: thus, creating an increasingly timid sub-race of man. As fear is enforced by breeding and upbringing through generations this race will slowly withdraw from human society, becoming ever more isolated and shy of any contact with normal humans, which might entail danger. As they slowly withdraw into more secluded areas - forced underground as it were, the process will accelerate, and as the genepool diminishes, racial traits will become increasingly pronounced, and it is not unlikely, that the primary racial traits: Timidity and ability to hide will become the desired traits. As size is a factor in hiding, it is likely that these people will be of ever diminishing stature and might eventually shift to nocturnal creatures.
This invariably leads my thoughts to Santa's elves, who probably started out as normal people, indistinguishable from their neighbours except for the habit of wearing practical but rather silly looking hats. Santa's elves are now creatures of legend, and so will Danes be in a few generations if this ridiculous law is passed.
Thus, my advice is to visit Denmark in the near future, while it is still a country whose population is tall and athletic. All too soon we may be reduced to fearful creatures of diminutive proportions wearing silly hats, who venture out only at night. If this law is passed it might be a sign, that timidity has already taken over, and the process is unstoppable. Woe to Denmark and its timid inhabitants.
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