@JTT,
G Nunberg came up with a good paragraph there, and one cannot but be tempted to agree with what he says.
I am conservative by nature though, especially where language is concerned, and I think it is a shame that today's ubiquitous mass media and communications seem to be accelerating the process of change, and also the tendency to homogeneity.
Change is happening, with increasing speed, and not always imho for the "better". We seem too eager to be dumbing-down, seeking the least common denominator.