Shakespeare Would Not Approve

If William Shakespeare, renowned English Poet and playwright was alive today to hear the butchering of the English language, he would probably snap his quill pen in half and immerse himself in a large quantity of English ale.

Shakespeare wrote 37 plays. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than any other playwright. Dats cuz he da bomb. Translation: That is because he is the best.

Sometime between the early Modern English of Shakespeare's time and the Late Modern English of today our language went awry. Proper spelling and pronunciation has been hijacked and replaced with slang. According to the website www.urbandictionary.com slang is defined as "The ever-evolving bastardization of the written and spoken language."

Dis can mean "this". Dat does mean "that". A far cry from thee and thou. Surprisingly the website www.allwords.com defines dis, dat, thee and thou. Dis can also mean: to diss, insult. Dat is defined as a colloquial pronunciation of that. Thee and thou are ways to address a person. People speak and write like dis and dat all the time. Thee and thou are usually only heard in a Shakespeare production. Thou should know dat dis mispronunciation is giving me a headache.

Gangstas talk like dis all da time while they're chillaxing with the boyz. Boyz are gang friends. The boyz might have homies. Homies are just friends. Homies might have some peeps. Peeps are just people, acquaintances. Peeps are not those cute, colorful marshmallow treats we see in stores this time of year, at least not for this story.

Aight dats enuff of dat. I can't take it no mo' I could go on, but you git da idea dawg. Any word can be intentionally misspelled or comically misused or combined with another word to make a new word, like they do with celebrity couples. We all know who Brangelina is. Hopefully when it matters the users of these mispelled words are able to use proper grammar when it counts, like on a term paper or job application. In the meantime, let's practice proper English when speaking, texting, tweeting or posting on facebook.

Shakespeare would not approve of the way some of us communicate today. Though I'm sure he would approve of Playhouse on Park's upcoming production of his "Comedy of Errors" Starring Brad DePlanche, Jesse Graham, Vanessa Morosco and Brendan Norton. Mr. Norton was last seen as Sir Mullet in Playhouse on Park's production of "Trapezium".

Comedy of Errors is on stage at Playhouse on Park April 6th to April 17th. Call 860-523-5900 x 10 or visit www.playhouseonpark.org for your tickets. Preview night is April 6th. Tickets are only $15.00. Opening night is April 7th. Come early for a complimentary wine and cheese. Sunday April 10th features a talkback with the cast and director following the show.