Overview

"Describing Prescriptivism provides a topical and thought-provoking analysis of linguistic prescriptivism in British and American English, from a historical as well as present-day perspective. Focusing on usage guides and usage problems, the book takes a three-fold approach to present an in-depth analysis of the topic, featuring: a detailed study of the advice provided in usage guides over the years; an authoritative comparison of this advice with actual usage as recorded in British and American corpora, including the HUGE (Hyper Usage Guide of English) database – developed specifically to enable this line of study – as well as more mainstream corpora such as COCA, COHA and the BNC; a close analysis of the attitudes to particular usage problems among the general public, based on surveys distributed online through the ""Bridging the Unbridgeable"" research project’s blog.* With extensive case studies to illustrate and support claims throughout, this comprehensive study is key reading for students and researchers of prescriptivism, the history of English and sociolinguistics. *Found at https://bridgingtheunbridgeable.com/"

Full Product Details

Author:   Ingrid Tieken-Boon van Ostade
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
Weight:   0.453kg
ISBN:  

9780367207182

ISBN 10:   0367207184
Pages:   274
Publication Date:   21 October 2019
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Undergraduate
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Preface Abbreviations Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. The origin of the usage guide Chapter 3. The usage guide – and the HUGE database Chapter 4. The writers and the publishers Chapter 5. Usage problems: pet linguistic peeves Chapter 6. The language of prescriptivism Chapter 7. Public awareness of prescriptivism Chapter 8. The end of prescriptivism? Appendix 1. Feedback on a blogpost (January 2015) Appendix 2. Usage problems in the HUGE database Appendix 3. Usage guide writers interviewed Appendix 4. Usage guide writers’ credentials Appendix 5. The metalinguistic categories from Sundby et al. (1991) References Index

Reviews

"""A welcome volume on an ever-topical matter – how to avoid the censure of self-appointed guardians of style – by a world authority on the subject. This book can be recommended to everyone interested in the background to widespread ideas about correctness in language."" Raymond Hickey, University of Duisburg and Essen, Germany ""Describing prescriptivism offers a thought-provoking analysis of prescriptivism from a sociolinguistic perspective. Employing a descriptive approach, this book draws upon a wide range of datasets that address the issue of usage guides and usage problems in British and American English from around 1750 to the present day, examining the functions, popularity, and the assumed influence of usage guides on the language."" Meishu Wang, School of International Studies, Zhejiang University"

A welcome volume on an ever-topical matter - how to avoid the censure of self-appointed guardians of style - by a world authority on the subject. This book can be recommended to everyone interested in the background to widespread ideas about correctness in language. Raymond Hickey, University of Duisburg and Essen, Germany

Author Information

Ingrid Tieken-Boon van Ostade is Chair in English Sociohistorical Linguistics, University of Leiden, The Netherlands, and has published extensively on the latter end of the English standardisation process.

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