Comments on: Stephen Fry On Language

By: Jane

Jane — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 18:26:44 +0000

You see, there’s a real problem with this argument – that people take it, and are taking this very video, to mean that it doesn’t matter if you confuse there/their/they’re, where/were, wander/wonder accept/except, affect/effect. It changes the sentence, sometimes to mean something different (which is often unintentionally hilarious), or to render it completely incomprehensible.

Of course language is plastic, and ‘gay’, ‘random’ or ‘hysteria’ have changed their meanings completely, but the point of language is communication. Pretending that it doesn’t matter if people get things mixed up (and I’m not talking about the odd slip-up that we all make) impedes people’s opportunity to communicate and, in the end, does them a disservice.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 04:23:40 +0000

He will deny this with every molecule of his existence, but it is true.

STEPHEN FRY IS GOD!

of if you prefer

STEPHEN FRY IS ONE OF THE GODS!

I could, and have, sat and watched or listened to him for hours on end talk, joke, or recite on a number of topics and have come to the conclusion, that for me, he is GOD! Which is difficult as I live in the USA. And so, the internet is my friend and I love QI and anything else he appears in. I watch a lot of documentaries, so imagine my delight when I download an interesting topic only to find out that Stephen is the narrator, it doesn’t get much better than that!

Thank You Stephen for hours of aural pleasure!
(he he)

By: Dom

Dom — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 02:19:42 +0000

“On one episode of QI Steve teased Alan. In regard to the latter’s apparent amazement, at another contestant’s seemingly extensive store of knowledge.
“I understand your inability to comprehend the connection, between reading books and the acquisition of information”, he quipped.
How I wish Alan had fixed him with a steely gaze and responded, ”Yes Stephen. But the Bible is a book, and you don’t believe what’s in that”.”

what are you on about? whether or not he believes whats in the book [bible] is irrelevant, knowledge is still imparted through reading.

By: Svlad Cjelli

Svlad Cjelli — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 14:09:57 +0000

N’ot oll rightuning car merely pedantic.

By: Quasi

Quasi — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 11:51:19 +0000

I don’t agree with pedantry for pedantry’s sake, but too often I find that a lack of regard for the grammar rules slows my reading, while I piece together what they mean in the Queen’s. The end result is that while the clarity has, technically, not been diminished, the overall effect is that my reading momentum has been disrupted, and I find that slightly bothersome, and a little rude.

What we can’t overlook is that while Oscar Wilde may have been a grammatical slacker, he asked for his errors to be corrected before they reached their intended audience.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 19:17:35 +0000

Wonderful. Am glad to hear that Mr. Fry isn’t one of those pedantic people who moans about where the apostrophe ‘lives’. There’s much more important things in life. =]
I was reading a book today, and a comma was missing. Did I write to the publishers? Nah, I carried on reading because we all know how it’s meant to read (+ it was a good book as well).
Also Stephen stood up for swearing in language. Yes, using swear words in an offensive way isn’t ‘cool’ but for many, a casual swear is just how we speak. (I’m Scottish, + just have a look at some of Billy Connelly’s material. It helps the flow, if anything.)
Check this link out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_osQvkeNRM
“The sort of twee person who thinks that swearing is in any way a lack of education is fucking lunatic.” =]

By: Kwayzal

Kwayzal — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 18:22:35 +0000

Ya no wats rong wiv langwidge?
It’s a convention that is limiting and limited. It’s a conditioning process.
Mechanical interpretations.
We’ve been conditioned by it.
Limited by it.

By: roz

roz — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 15:52:50 +0000

yes, but what’s the difference between “his house burned up” & “his house burned down”?

By: alan

alan — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 13:56:45 +0000

On one episode of QI Steve teased Alan. In regard to the latter’s apparent amazement, at another contestant’s seemingly extensive store of knowledge.
“I understand your inability to comprehend the connection, between reading books and the acquisition of information”, he quipped.
How I wish Alan had fixed him with a steely gaze and responded, ”Yes Stephen. But the Bible is a book, and you don’t believe what’s in that”.

By: Rob

Rob — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 13:44:05 +0000

I can’t deny that I get annoyed when people don’t use the right version of their they’re there, or your and you’re.

Is it really pedantic to worry that after about 10 years of formal education (or more), people don’t know the difference?

I hope they do, and just can’t be bothered to use the correct one…