The Independent reported yesterday that The Queen's English Society,will close its doors.
For last 40 years the society has championed good English but has finally conceded it cannot survive in the era of text speak and Twitter.
Chairman Rhea Williams announced the demise of the organisation in a terse message to members after the annual meeting, which just 22 people attended. "Despite the sending out of a request for nominations for chairman, vice-chairman, administrator, web master, and membership secretary no one came forward to fill any role.So I have to inform you that QES will no longer exist. There will be one more Quest then all activity will cease and the society will be wound up. The effective date will be 30 June 2012."
She said it was sad the society was to close but added that the difficulty in getting people to take on roles was a problem also experienced by other groups across the UK. "Things change, people change," she said. "People care about different things. If you look at lots of societies, lots of them are having problems. Lives have changed dramatically over the last 40 years. People don't want to join societies like they used to."
The closure followed a setback this year when the society's plans for an Academy of Contemporary English collapsed.
I will neither cheer nor shed tears over the demise of the QES. Good grammar is important to ensure that the written word conveys the meaning intended by the writer. On the other hand English is a livng language which will continue to grow and develop, regardless of whether the QES existsor not. On thing that I can predict is that English speakers in the 24th Century will find our brand of English strange, if not almost unreadable.
For last 40 years the society has championed good English but has finally conceded it cannot survive in the era of text speak and Twitter.
Chairman Rhea Williams announced the demise of the organisation in a terse message to members after the annual meeting, which just 22 people attended. "Despite the sending out of a request for nominations for chairman, vice-chairman, administrator, web master, and membership secretary no one came forward to fill any role.So I have to inform you that QES will no longer exist. There will be one more Quest then all activity will cease and the society will be wound up. The effective date will be 30 June 2012."
She said it was sad the society was to close but added that the difficulty in getting people to take on roles was a problem also experienced by other groups across the UK. "Things change, people change," she said. "People care about different things. If you look at lots of societies, lots of them are having problems. Lives have changed dramatically over the last 40 years. People don't want to join societies like they used to."
The closure followed a setback this year when the society's plans for an Academy of Contemporary English collapsed.
I will neither cheer nor shed tears over the demise of the QES. Good grammar is important to ensure that the written word conveys the meaning intended by the writer. On the other hand English is a livng language which will continue to grow and develop, regardless of whether the QES existsor not. On thing that I can predict is that English speakers in the 24th Century will find our brand of English strange, if not almost unreadable.
2 comments:
While I appreciate that English is a living language and must change I can't but detest text speak!
Not keen especially when spoken!
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