I was actually referring to all of the abbreviations in text messages—like “Heyall hv u seen the nw ftrz of the app? Cant w8 myself!” That’s not actually new language, but just written abbreviations, which, though a bit ugly, are not a change in the language as such. Sorry for not being clear.
Yes, in reality I’m one of those sniffy people that doesn’t like bad grammar. But one can do that from the wrong perspective, so I’m trying to evolve in that respect. (It’s why I love the Merriam-Webster videos, as they give a larger, historical context to this stuff.) When Shakespeare bent and twisted English, he did so from a point of understanding the language, which is the ideal. It’s the same with all the great writers who do unconventional things. Unfortunately, most of the changes in a language are pushed along by the ignorant masses who don’t know what they are doing, and that’s where the pity of it comes in.
In terms of something like “y’all”, though, before writing it off as “wrong”, some historical perspective on language comes in very handy. The “all” at the end is a typical kind of intensifier. Actually, I don’t know the correct term for it, but “y’all” has a particular flavor to it that’s different from “you”. There is a long history of this kind of subtle additions of meaning, but unfortunately, English lacks them in a formal sense. That’s why you get phrases like “I literally exploded with laughter”, when you didn’t literally explode at all. But the “literally” adds extra, subtle meaning to the statement.
In languages like Ancient Greek and Sanskrit, there are lots of little intensifiers that aren’t words in themselves but which add subtle meaning like this.
Nah, let it run where it needs to. This is a great discussion. Imagine having a conversation in a pub where someone keeps complaining because the discussion is “off topic”. I would just walk out. 