The peculiarities of speech and writing are the most obvious sign of the self-organization of a grouping. Only sufficiently large groupings have what could be called distinctive argots and dialects. This includes industries, geographical areas, religions, and others. No one can master these distinctives; spelling and grammar books, writing classes, examinations and corrections, have little effect. To speak and to write is to create the language. I suppose Zhuangzi might have said, "We make the language as we write it."
It might even be said that, for diversities within a national or ethnic group or any large grouping, it is better not to impose a standard on language. Standard English is a fiction; it is always deviating from itself. The academic style of writing is neither the correct one nor the best one for all communicational situations. Communicational competence within a locality is one of the guiding theoretical practices of WikiEthica. Hence we not only tolerate but embrace deviant spellings, peculiar grammar, and non-standard styles of expression. Were the wikiethical community an online one, we would most certainly exploit the multitude of abbreviations and emoticons developed by those with competency in instant messaging.
