Language pedants hew to an oral tradition of shibboleths that have no basis in logic or style, that have been defied by great writers for centuries, and that have been disavowed by every thoughtful usage manual.
Interpretation
Language rules can be arbitrary and often don't reflect effective communication principles.
In this quote, Steven Pinker criticizes the strict adherence to outdated language rules that are often upheld by language purists. He argues that these arbitrary standards lack logical rationale and have been challenged by accomplished writers throughout history, reinforcing the idea that language evolves and should not be constrained by rigid dictates that may not enhance clarity or expression.
In practice
In a seminar about effective writing, one could emphasize the importance of understanding that not all language rules are absolute by citing Pinker's quote.
The foundation of individual rights is the assumption that people have wants and needs and are authorities on what those wants and needs are. If people's stated desires were just some kind of erasable inscription or reprogrammable brainwashing, any atrocity could be justified.
The linguistic clumsiness of tourists and students might be the price we pay for the linguistic genius we displayed as babies, just as the decrepitude of age in the price we pay for the vigor of youth.
If we are not to abandon values such as peace and equality, or our commitments to science and truth, then we must pry these values away from claims about our psychological makeup that are vulnerable to being proven false.
We adults protect ourselves with laws, police, workplace regulations and social norms and there is no conceivable reason why children should be left more vulnerable, other that laziness or callousness in considering what life is like from their point of view.
The idea that children are passive repositories to be shaped by their parents has been massively overstated. A child's peer group is a far greater determinant of its development and achievements than parental aspiration.
Reason is non-negotiable. Try to argue against it, or to exclude it from some realm of knowledge, and you've already lost the argument, because you're using reason to make your case. ... We don't "believe" in reason.
Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent.
Learning through the arts reinforces critical academic skills in reading, language arts and math, and provides students with the skills to creatively solve problems.
In raising children, we need to continuously keep in mind how we can best create the most favorable environment for their imitative behavior. Everything done in the past regarding imitation must become more and more conscious and more and more consciously connected with the future.
Oxford is Oxford: not a mere receptacle for youth, like Cambridge. Perhaps it wants its inmates to love it rather than to love one another.
Many authors hate to go on grinding book tours. But I've always found it a useful way to be a foreign correspondent in America and take the pulse of the country.
The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.
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