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b'Since the dawn of time, people have complained about how \\u2018young people\\u2019 speak. Look in the comments section of any website, especially on an article dealing with language or grammar, and you\\u2019ll find \\u2018purist-and-proud-of-it\\u2019 commenters who insist that proper language is necessary for proper comprehension and communication, that the English language as we know it is in a serious state of endangerment. Texting and a lack of grammar instruction in schools are often claimed to be the root of the problem. For some reason grammar, or the perceived lack thereof, incurs the wrath of so many English speakers.\\n\\nLinguists have a very different view of \\u2018grammar\\u2019, and an even more different view of what is deemed \\u2018ungrammatical\\u2019. This presentation will contrast prescriptive views of language held by most people who have gone through the school system with descriptive views of language held by most linguists. The inevitablity of language change, as well as examples of differing social, geographical and situational norms will be discussed. \\n\\nIn other words, don\\u2019t bother correcting your kids\\u2019 and grandkids\\u2019 grammar and pronunciation. You can\\u2019t beat \\u2018em, but you might be able to join \\u2018em.\\n\\nSpeaker: Dr. Nicole Rosen\\n\\nNicole Rosen\\u2019s research interests center around effects of language interactions and specifically, languages and dialects spoken in the Canadian Prairies. Her doctoral thesis was a study of Michif, a Cree-French mixed language spoken primarily in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. She is also very interested in minority French as spoken in Western Canada, for example comparing M\\xe9tis and non-M\\xe9tis varieties of French in the region.\\nMost recently, Dr. Rosen has turned to studying dialect differences in Southern Alberta. She has built a Southern Alberta Corpus of English to begin the investigation of social and linguistic factors involved in language variation between rural and urban speakers as well as variation between speakers of different religious and ethnic backgrounds.\\n\\nModerator: Tad Mitsui \\n\\nDate: Thursday, November 28, 2013 \\nTime: Noon - 1:30 PM \\nLocation: Country Kitchen Catering (Lower level of The Keg) 1715 Mayor Magrath Dr S \\nCost: $11.00 (includes lunch)'