Overview

Is today's language at an all-time low? Are pronunciations like cawfee and chawklit bad English? Is slang like my bad or hook up improper? Is it incorrect to mix English and Spanish, as in Yo quiero Taco Bell? Can you write Who do you trust? rather than Whom do you trust? Linguist Edwin Battistella takes a hard look at traditional notions of bad language, arguing that they are often based in sterile conventionality. Examining grammar and style, cursing, slang, and political correctness, regional and ethnic dialects, and foreign accents and language mixing, Battistella discusses the strong feelings evoked by language variation, from objections to the pronunciation NU-cu-lar to complaints about bilingual education. He explains the natural desire for uniformity in writing and speaking and traces the association of mainstream norms to ideas about refinement, intelligence, education, character, national unity and political values. Battistella argues that none of these qualities is inherently connected to language. It is tempting but wrong, Battistella argues, to think of slang, dialects and nonstandard grammar as simply breaking the rules of good English. Instead, we should view language as made up of alternative forms of orderliness adopted by speakers depending on their purpose. Thus we can study the structure and context of nonstandard language in order to illuminate and enrich traditional forms of language, and make policy decisions based on an informed engagement. Re-examining longstanding and heated debates, Bad Language will appeal to a wide spectrum of readers engaged and interested in the debate over what constitutes proper language.

Full Product Details

Author:   Edwin L. Battistella (Dean, School of Arts and Letters, and Professor of English, Dean, School of Arts and Letters, and Professor of English, Southern Oregon University)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press Inc
Imprint:   Oxford University Press Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 21.40cm , Height: 1.50cm , Length: 14.60cm
Weight:   0.281kg
ISBN:  

9780195337457

ISBN 10:   019533745
Pages:   256
Publication Date:   01 November 2007
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  College/higher education ,  Professional & Vocational ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
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Table of Contents

Preface Bad Language: Realism versus Relativism Anything Goes A Culture of Engagement Bad Writing The Craft of Writing Clear and Direct The Relativity of Style What is Good Writing? Bad Grammar Prescriptive Grammar The Emergence of Prescriptivism The Doctrines of Usage and Utility The English Language Arts and Beyond Conservatives and Progressives The Necessity for Grammar Bad Words Cursing in the Media and the Arts Offensive Language Bad Words as a Social Construction Slang as Bad Language Political Correctness Conventionalism and Comfort Levels Bad Citizens Birth of a Nation Native American Languages Manualism versus Oralism Restrictions on Foreign Languages Bilingual Education English Only One Flag, One Language Bad Accents Broken English Attitudes Toward Regional Dialects Ebonics Accomodating to the Idealized Mainstream Images and Engagement Imagining Language English Made Hard Beyond Simplistic Characterizations Notes Reference Index

Reviews

...written for a non-scholarly audience, although it might be useful as a pre-course book for undergraduates... Books on this subject tend to adopt polarized positions, and while it is clear which end of the spectrum Battistella occupies, he writes in a style that would not automatically alienate those who initially disagreed with him. The Year's Works in English Studies

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