Prescriptive grammar (was: wide array of death euphemisms

[Patti J. Kurtz]

To enter the fray here (since I teach freshman comp, which someone
suggested was (or the lack thereof) the cause of the absence of
punctuation in that e mail):

Yes, linguistics tends to be descriptive, rather than prescriptive in
nature.  And there is a movement away from teaching "formal grammar" in
comp.

Still, audience is key.  I would be horrified if a student of mine
submitted an e mail to this list that way-- it's a waste of everyone's
already scarce time to try to force readers to figure it out.

In personal e mails-- that sort of writing may be acceptable.  Certainly
in journals or rough drafts.  Not in a finished paper.

To the writer of the email:  e e cummings wrote poetry, not e mail.

Patti Kurtz
Minot State University

gbarrett at WORLDNEWYORK.ORG wrote:

>I am less concerned with our correspondent's lack of punctuation,
>capitals, correct orthography, and decorum because I understood her
>message to be "do a lot of work for me for no explained reason." That,
>in itself, is enough reason to ignore her.
>
>
>

--

Dr. Patti J. Kurtz

Assistant Professor, English

Director of the Writing Center

Minot State University

Minot, ND 58707



Foster: What about our evidence? They've got to take notice of that.



Straker: Evidence. What's it going to look like when Henderson claims
that we manufactured it, just to get a space clearance program?



Foster: But we are RIGHT!



Straker: Sometimes, Colonel, that's not quite enough.