Surely what we're really talking about is extending the meaning of less rather than removing the concept of fewer?
So I can have less water I can also have less boxes
But I can't have fewer water
Now this is a fairly major adjustment, but the language does that a lot. Here in the Netherlands the language is terribly codified, with the government occassionally issuing rules as to how it should be used. The result is best illustrated by the annual TV show called 'The great dictation' in which the host reads out sentences and people have to write them down. You'd think this would be easy - right?
The results are then marked for correct spelling and grammar, and a winner is announced. The results show up two things 1) Belgians are better at this than the Dutch,2) Almost no-body is capable of using the language accurately.
Lock things down too tightly and you'll just end up with everyone being wrong. Dutch is in theory a much more straightforward language than English, with rules for spelling and everything...
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So I can have less water
I can also have less boxes
But I can't have fewer water
Now this is a fairly major adjustment, but the language does that a lot. Here in the Netherlands the language is terribly codified, with the government occassionally issuing rules as to how it should be used. The result is best illustrated by the annual TV show called 'The great dictation' in which the host reads out sentences and people have to write them down. You'd think this would be easy - right?
The results are then marked for correct spelling and grammar, and a winner is announced. The results show up two things 1) Belgians are better at this than the Dutch,2) Almost no-body is capable of using the language accurately.
Lock things down too tightly and you'll just end up with everyone being wrong. Dutch is in theory a much more straightforward language than English, with rules for spelling and everything...