The Queen's English Society

[tbieter]

"Why has there been so much glee over the demise of the Queen’s English Society? No sooner had these posh warriors against txtspeak and for standard English announced that they were calling it a day than the press was effectively saying: ‘About time, too.’ There were the inevitable slangish headlines. ‘OMG! Queen’s English Society announces that it is to close cos no one cares about speaking proper no longer’, said the Daily Mail. And then there were the follow-up comment pieces, informing us that no one speaks the Queen’s English anymore (not even the Queen) and that we should stop the ‘cultural policing’ of the English language."
http://www.spiked-online.com/site/article/12512/

Civilized societies, to bring order out of chaos, necessarily promulgate and enforce standards:

My friend's company prepares documents for clients worldwide, the documents being filed with governments. (He worked in London for five years , loved the city, and would return in a heartbeat if he could) He hires college graduates as proof readers. He uses a test of applicants' general proficiency in standard English. Most applicants fail. Many can't even write a correct sentence! Many use txtspeak.

In our free society, the applicants are free to use textspeak instead of standard English. He is free to adhere to standards and not hire them, to hire instead well-spoken immigrants from India.

[RickLewis]

"Why has there been so much glee over the demise of the Queen’s English Society? No sooner had these posh warriors against txtspeak and for standard English announced that they were calling it a day than the press was effectively saying: ‘About time, too.’"

I've just been to the website of the Queen’s English Society (http://www.queens-english-society.com/). They claim to have over a thousand members, and to be a registered charity. There is no mention on their website of them closing down. Do you think it was some sort of publicity stunt? It reminds me of those rock groups whose record companies make them break up and then re-form on a regular basis for the sake of the newspaper coverage.

[tbieter]

"Why has there been so much glee over the demise of the Queen’s English Society? No sooner had these posh warriors against txtspeak and for standard English announced that they were calling it a day than the press was effectively saying: ‘About time, too.’"

I've just been to the website of the Queen’s English Society (http://www.queens-english-society.com/). They claim to have over a thousand members, and to be a registered charity. There is no mention on their website of them closing down. Do you think it was some sort of publicity stunt? It reminds me of those rock groups whose record companies make them break up and then re-form on a regular basis for the sake of the newspaper coverage.

One dare not doubt the Guardian!
"Having attempted to identify a role for the society and its magazine, Quest, "for the next 40 years", the society chairman, Rhea Williams, decided it was time to close. She announced the group's demise in a terse message to members following the annual meeting, which just 22 people attended. "Despite the sending out of a request for nominations for chairman, vice-chairman, administrator, webmaster and membership secretary, no one came forward to fill any role," she said. "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."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/201 ... enuf-innit
R.I.P.