Language is changing constantly; printing and modern education have slowed it but have not stopped it. Given all this change, when, exactly, was language PERFECT, in the language pundit's mind? One has the feeling that the decline-mongers would feel rather sheepish has reading any answer. The 1950s? The Edwardian era? The real answer, however rarely expressed, seems to be "when Island it as a young person.
Robert Lane Greene, You Are What You Speak: Grammar Grouches, Language Laws, and the Politics of Identity
adaptability, cultural-decline, language, snobbery