Vitalik Buterin pfp
Vitalik Buterin
@vitalik.eth
Another linguistics note: Has anyone else noticed how eliding the subject (in this case "I") seems to have become more and more acceptable in English over the last 10 years? Wonder if anyone has written about this trend.
45 replies
24 recasts
194 reactions

Mac Budkowski (🥝,🥄) pfp
Mac Budkowski (🥝,🥄)
@macbudkowski
also writing with lower case only became more popular
5 replies
1 recast
19 reactions

Ayush pfp
Ayush
@shuklaayush
Found this article. Think it’s called “left edge deletion” and is a type of pro-dropping https://slate.com/human-interest/2016/05/all-your-questions-about-pronoun-deletion-and-the-inexorable-death-of-the-universe-answered.html
0 reply
4 recasts
15 reactions

Thomas D. Pellegrin (🥝,🔪) pfp
Thomas D. Pellegrin (🥝,🔪)
@aviationdoctor.eth
Interestingly, Latin and its closest descendants (Italian, Portuguese, Spanish) make the subject pronoun optional because the conjugation of the verb makes it obvious. In French, which is also quite close to Latin, or English, which borrows ~80% of its words from Latin, pronouns have been non-optional until this trend
2 replies
2 recasts
11 reactions

Binji 🔴 pfp
Binji 🔴
@binji
Imo it’s because of the internet - character limits/low attention spans - linguistic convergence from various languages, cultures, styles converging in one ungoverned place (no defacto spell checks or ‘linguistic style laws’ are imposed on social media vs other writing mediums like academia, newspapers, etc)
1 reply
2 recasts
10 reactions

gilles pfp
gilles
@gilles
example of how language tends to organically evolve towards the simplest viable form but trajectory is slowed by grammar rules imposed through schooling e.g. German still has grammatical cases (genitive etc.) because rules institutionalized by Luther Bible (1534), while Dutch evolved to work only with prepositions
0 reply
2 recasts
9 reactions

Zohaib pfp
Zohaib
@fractalqualia
Will write about it someday. Am busy rn
0 reply
3 recasts
8 reactions

tldr (tim reilly) pfp
tldr (tim reilly)
@tldr
Could be related to fact that to social media and text messaging natives, a certain “formality” can be considered a sign of aggression https://brands.wattpad.com/insights/the-new-rules-for-writing-for-gen-z-how-to-avoid-passive-aggressive-punctuation-and-other-lessons-from-an-internet-linguist?hs_amp=true
4 replies
0 recast
8 reactions

Homocryptus  pfp
Homocryptus
@homocryptus
Time management
0 reply
2 recasts
5 reactions

Trish🫧 pfp
Trish🫧
@trish
I do it. It’s a bad habit. I don’t know where I picked it up but, like passive voice, I try to edit it before sending. Like passive voice, it separates the the individual from the action in some way. I’m both guilty but not proud.
1 reply
0 recast
5 reactions

MattGarcia.eth pfp
MattGarcia.eth
@mattgarcia.eth
all languages evolve towards simplicity plus 'am' leaves no room for doubt that the speaker is 'i' (unlike 'is' and 'are') so it's all quite natural
0 reply
2 recasts
3 reactions

Colin Johnson pfp
Colin Johnson
@cojo.eth
I have to consciously go back through emails frequently and add in I - sometimes it seems a little too off-hand. Lots of senior folks at Amex/Apple did this to “get to the point” in short emails.
0 reply
0 recast
4 reactions

🧊na pfp
🧊na
@na
Yea. My theory is that typing too many “I” or “my” seems either too self-important, or not up to self-imposed laconic standards.
0 reply
0 recast
3 reactions

Britt Kim pfp
Britt Kim
@brittkim.eth
0 reply
0 recast
3 reactions

🖖 pfp
🖖
@accountless.eth
eliding is a hard word for the english to accept tho unless they are 8th grade reading level and above i really believe the more complex synonyms we use the greater entropy and challenge to see from different perspectives not trolling
1 reply
0 recast
2 reactions

antimo pfp
antimo
@antimofm.eth
I did notice When I was writing my book I read several style guides. I learned to keep an eye out for how many sentences begin with "I" (too many) It's a good cue to vary your writing Just removing the "I" is the easy way out 😂
0 reply
0 recast
2 reactions

Bayram pfp
Bayram
@bayka.eth
Not sure about the trend, but this is exactly the thing chatgpt always corrects me on
0 reply
0 recast
1 reaction

Andrei O. pfp
Andrei O.
@andrei0x309
Like somebody else mentioned I guess this is a function of character limits. From my experience is pretty rare and just because Elon does it doesn't mean it has reached the acceptable status.
1 reply
0 recast
1 reaction

antimo pfp
antimo
@antimofm.eth
Sneaky pete
0 reply
0 recast
1 reaction

Sylvia R. pfp
Sylvia R.
@sylvanscenes.eth
I think it has to do with the popularity of social media and specifically with the fact that people tend to use the conversational mode of a language on social platforms.
0 reply
0 recast
1 reaction