William Astle said: > On Tue, 3 Jun 2003, Trevor Lauder wrote: > >> A word may be legitimate for some if it's generally understood, however >> the use of slang & vulgarity shows a lack of intelligence. Yes, it is >> all >> about communication but there are varying levels of communication. Some >> levels help you look like an intelligent person, other levels do not and >> only exist due to a lack of education. > > I would like to point out that the above paragraph implies a connection > between "intelligence" and "education" when, in fact, there is little > correlation. A person can be stunningly intelligent yet use slang and > vulgarity. This happens to be one of my pet peeves with "popular culture" > portraying high intelligence as knowing everything under the sun rather > than the *ability* to learn/reason/etc.
True, but answer this question then. Why, if someone really is "stunningly intelligent", do they choose to use slang and vulgarity in the place of a proper noun, pronoun, verb, adverb, adjective, or preposition? Such practice is unbecoming of someone who is truly intelligent (Someone who can "learn/reason/etc"). > > I should point out that I do not believe Trevor intended to make the > implication I conjured out of his comment. Yes, I should have explained myself further :) > > I will also concur that certain usages of language certainly are an > indicator of lack of education, or at very least lack of care in the use > of language. And, most certainly, it is a popular perception that lack of > education equates with lack of intelligence. Yes, I agree, in rare cases it is laziness or apathy and not lack of education. I think in most cases though where a person uses that type of language constantly, it is because that is the only vocabulary they possess :) > > And now that I've managed to take the step from having everyone think I'm > a fool to proving it... :) Haha > > -- > William Astle > finger [EMAIL PROTECTED] for further information > > Geek Code V3.12: GCS/M/S d- s+:+ !a C++ UL++++$ P++ L+++ !E W++ !N w--- !O > !M PS PE V-- Y+ PGP t+@ 5++ X !R tv+@ b+++@ !DI D? G e++ h+ y? > >
