1 hour ago
The problem in part is assuming that normal English is even one's own vernacular. 16th century English, 18th century English, 20th century English---and I spend a lot of my time speaking, writing, even thinking in English---but all of that is technically not my native language. I was born speaking Tagalog, and I couldn't care less if some of my pieces seem particularly dated, at least as a general principle: I just want to write what sounds good to me, what fits my immediate purpose. And oftentimes my purpose is to mock at the language's ancients, to doggedly say, "Not only is this my language, but I am steeped in its history better than you, who would scorn me for not being white or native enough to fit your canon. I am more English than you, and I was born speaking something else."