I had a discussion with a friend recently about the sentence, "Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo." He had a very difficult time accepting that this sentence is 100% correct. But, it is correct.
'Buffalo' has three definitions. One is a city in New York. One is a large hoofed animal. And one is a verb meaning to bully. The sentence also makes use of English's ability to omit many words and retain meaning.
To use synonyms, the sentence can be translated as, "Bison from Buffalo that bully other bison from Buffalo bully bison from Buffalo."
Even when I explained why this sentence was totally correct, my friend was not satisfied. Frankly, I wasn't satisfied either (mostly because it's a horrible sentence).
But therein lies the lesson for today. Just because something is correct does not mean it is compelling. As such, things that are technically incorrect can be quite compelling.
Since I am a storyteller, I care far, far more about being compelling. Being correct is certainly nice (it keeps Grammar Nazis off my back), but if I have to sacrifice one for the other, I will always make the same choice. And since I am a linguist, I also recognize that the rules are all made up and the only thing that matters is effective communication. What compels people the most will be accepted as correct. Of this, I have no doubt.
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