Grammar, Usage, Standards: Passe?

Paul Frank paulfrank at POST.HARVARD.EDU
Tue Jun 8 17:58:44 UTC 2010


Hi James,

As someone with no linguistic training, my take on the question of
"proper English" is that prescriptive grammar rules ought to be
followed in certain registers and contexts, because they establish a
certain tone and forge a relationship with your reader and help him or
her focus on the content rather than the form of your message. In
other words, prescriptive grammar rules facilitate communication. But
when prescriptive grammar rules lead to stilted language, they ought
to be flouted and their silliness condemned. Sloppy language that does
not adhere to prescriptive grammar rules is exoteric if you're talking
to someone from your peer group or social network. But it's esoteric,
and therefore an impediment to comprehension, if you're trying to
reach a wider audience. By way of illustration, I would compare the
encoding you used to send your message to writing in the wrong
register. On my side, your message was displayed so full of garbled
encoding (?=A0, =A0, etc.) that I did not have the patience to read to
the end of it to decipher it. It's always good to write in plain text
encoding when posting message to discussion lists read by people in
different parts of the world.

Put another way, I think that prescriptivism has gotten a bad rap. I
find Bryan Garner prescriptivist, but nonetheless sensible, Dictionary
of American Usage and Style a damn sight more useful than the more
scholarly but in all too many instances annoyingly laissez-faire
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage.

Paul


Paul Frank
Translator
German, French, Italian > English
Rue du Midi 1, Aigle, Switzerland
paulfrank at post.harvard.edu


On Tue, Jun 8, 2010 at 7:27 PM, James Dawson <jamesndawson at yahoo.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: Â  Â  Â  American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster: Â  Â  Â  James Dawson <jamesndawson at YAHOO.COM>
> Subject: Â  Â  Â Grammar, Usage, Standards: Passe?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Well, I finally decided I'd better just try to jump in here, rather than wa=
> iting for the perfect moment, as I'm sure if there'll never be one.
> =A0
> What is the climate of opinion these days on the question of "proper Englis=
> h", i.e. grammar, usage, etc.=A0 Among language professionals and enthusias=
> ts, is it an outdated and pedantic concern?=A0 As dialectians, my understan=
> ding is the interest of most of you is the dialect as it is, and not so muc=
> h as it should be.=A0 For that reason, I've been a little hesitant to ask q=
> uestions about "proper" grammar and usage, thinking few of you may even bel=
> ieve in such a concept anymore.
> =A0
> I've read The Miracle of Language by Charlton Laird, so I'm a little famili=
> ar with the "proper-grammar-skeptical" arguments,
> =A0
> Is there some group, which I presume would be unofficial, that sets standar=
> ds?=A0=A0Certainly standards have been challenged almost=A0to the breaking =
> point, perhaps especially with the growth of=A0Internet=A0jargon, but=A0may=
> be they still exist, though maybe in a more relaxed form.=A0 I'm interested=
> Â in the presevervationist, or prescriptionist perspective, with respect to =
> English.=A0 I=A0know such an approach is problematical, and I'm not necessa=
> rily a purist myself, but I'd=A0still like to be=A0aware of it.
> =A0
> Are there any other forums where my questions would be better asked?=A0 Any=
> Â PRINT publications, for the layman?
> =A0
> Are there any=A0books that deal with this, and recent changes in the langua=
> ge?=A0 In, say, the last 5, 10 or 15 years?
> =A0
> If I=A0don't find any, I may be back with questions on specific words and p=
> hrases I've had questions about.
> =A0
> Thanks!
> JND=A0=0A=0A=0A
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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