Quote (Santara @ 1 Mar 2022 17:31)
Ok I suppose I haven't put enough effort into this side discussion.
That backs your position but doesn't contradict mine. Words are words whether found in a dictionary or not. If a word is understandable as having comprehensible meaning then it remains a valid word irregardless of whether found in a dictionary or not. The fine people of Oxford would agree.
Hopefully that little dig I threw in isn't too subtle to notice or just going to piss you off and have you try to correct me again.
If this was about, say, Latin; and I said secundos and you corrected me as secundus is the correct spelling, I'd have no choice but to stand corrected. Latin is a dead language and therefore it's rules are set in stone. But such is not the case for living languages. They constantly evolve and are subject to the whims of popularity. I don't recognize popularity as a valid cornerstone of a discussion on any word as popularity is subject to change.
If I were writing an article in a paper and you, as the editor, edited my spelling that's one thing. Same goes for if I'm being graded on my English. It very much matters if the spelling changes the meaning of the term, such as root or rot. But it doesn't fly for casual conversation. It just makes the critic look pedantic.
Perhaps you have less experience with poor spelling and grammar by the masses than I do and it is of import to you that the rules of academics are strictly followed. But I have spent my life surrounded by people who can't use proper spelling and grammar even in official documentation, so from my point of view all that matters is that most people know what I'm attempting to communicate.