http://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/legos

Quick — what is the original plural of “syllabus”?!

syllapodes

Syllatrain

Have linguistics degree. Can confirm.

this causes me physical pain

I unironically love descriptivism because it acknowledges languages in active use as not dead, and not static.

Most of y’all nerds know that “nice” and “mean” used to have very different definitions 😄

Syllabeese

I lost. My eye was flinching.

syllabi

Someone's got a case of the syllies

Syllabub

I knew about nice, but what did mean mean?

Sill-ap-po-dees

As an adjective: lowly, common, inferior.

You’ll have to scroll a bit but here should give a better explanation

sittybōs is the plural of sittyba - "syllabus" has been a 600 year old misreading of a Greek word from a Roman library and it's time to set the record straight.

Fun fact: "nuclear" comes from the Latin nucula, 'little nut'. The c and l being adjacent in modern forms is due to metathesis, the same process that results in some people pronouncing "ask" as "ax".

Illigitimus non-irregardless carborundum

"descriptivism" is a great defence against getting a word wrong. It's a huge gamble, as you look like a dick and incorrect, but you be you.

For all intensive purposes, descriptivists pass mustard in snipping linguistic elitism in the butt. Prescriptivists are chomping at the bit to correct things people say on accident, and make people tow the line for their own piece of mind.

But they should of realized people have free reign to express themselves, and extracting revenge on them only hurts their self of steam.

It peaked my interest at one point, but now I could care less, the meaning is one in the same. It's a mute point in this doggy-dog world. Give people some leadway.

I'm a twitching pile and I've learned to except other people, so thx