Overview

Do you cringe when a talking head pronounces niche as NITCH? Do you get bent out of shape when your teenager begins a sentence with and ? Do you think British spellings are more civilised than the American versions? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you're myth-informed. In Origins of the Specious, word mavens Patricia T. O'Conner and Stewart Kellerman reveal why some of grammar's best-known rules aren't--and never were--rules at all. This playfully witty, rigorously researched book sets the record straight about bogus word origins, politically correct fictions, phony francais, fake acronyms, and more. Here are some shockers: They was once commonly used for both singular and plural, much the way you is today. And an eighteenth-century female grammarian, of all people, is largely responsible for the all-purpose he. From the Queen's English to street slang, this eye-opening romp will be the toast of grammarphiles and the salvation of grammarphobes. Take our word for it.

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9781299126886

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