The internet is destroying grammar

[The Bob]

What are the words in Croatian? That's where I'm from.

Skeuir Lanimgo

The Bob (2004 ©)

 

[zoobyshoe]

Oh, I agree that the ambiguity is most likely what gets my feathers in a knot.

You may complain about ambiguity, affectively, but that won't effect any changes. The affect of ambiguity is happy-go-lucky. This effectively affects all of us here at PF. This is not just a notion I have affected. Affectation is not effective. The effects of an affected affect affect affective responses ([i.e.] they effectively affect the affect of those affected).

Affect aside, the ambiguity caused by confusing the words "affect" and "effect" can affect the clarity of expository prose in posts about physics. Consider: "Will that affect a change?" This might mean what it says or it might mean "Will this effect a change?" You can't really tell.
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The Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary has a particularly long usage commentary for the transitive verb effect:

"usage The confusion of the verbs affect and effect is not only quite common but has a long history.Effect was used in place of ³affect as early as 1494 and in place of ²affect as early as 1652. If you think you want to use the verb effect but are not certain, check the definitions in this dictionary. The noun affect is sometimes mistakenly used for effect. Except when your topic is psychology, you will seldom need the noun affect."

The noun affect they are referring to is accented on the first syllable, and is primarily used in psychology and psychiatry to refer to emotion, or the outward appearance of emotion. A patient with a "blunted affect", for example, is one who seems pathologically lacking in emotion.

"The Edison Affect", therefore, would refer to the expression on Edison's face, not the thermiotic effect he discovered.

It was amusing when, once or twice, I've seen references to "the Edison affect", or "the Einstein affect".

 

[jimmy p]

Quote from Mr Bumble in Oliver Twist.

The law is a ass - a idiot.

Get the Grammar Gestapo on that.

 

[pig]

Skeuir Lanimgo

The Bob (2004 ©)

That's definitely not Croatian

 

[The Bob]

That's definitely not Croatian

Well a Croatian told me it was. Never mind.

The Bob (2004 ©)

 

[Prometheus]

The internet is destroying grammar.

Destroy is a value judgment, and one that I do not agree with. As well, I do not know why you cast blame on the Internet.

HUMOROUS GRAMMAR RULES

Some of these are still considered rules. Others remain rules only in the minds of prescriptive purists.

Hey! But I spelled acquaintance correct today

For example, the evolution of adverbs into adjectives, such as correctly into correct, is not the fault of the Internet. Neither is it the destruction of grammar.