Monthly Archives: August 2015

Who is Kay Sayce? Who is Ann Batko?

Posted on August 20, 2015 by Ingrid Tieken

I’m trying to find out who Kay Sayce is. I know she (he?) is the author of a usage guide called What not to write: A guide to the dos and dont’s of good English (2006). The book is included … Continue reading →

Posted in biography, usage guide | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Bryson in Hungary and China

Posted on August 19, 2015 by Ingrid Tieken

WorldCat is a wonderful resource for our kind of work (though not always entirely reliable …). I looked up Bryson’s Troublesome Words (1984), one of “our” usage guides, to find out how popular the book was. I was trying to follow … Continue reading →

Posted in news, usage guide | Tagged | Leave a comment

Sitcoms and language humour

Posted on August 17, 2015 by Viktorija Kostadinova

Those who are familiar with Frasier would certainly recall that language was one of the things Frasier and Niles were nitpicky about. In one episode, Frasier manages to irritate a caller by commenting on his inappropriate use of literally: “I’m sorry Doug, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Just out: the A2P articles on Prescriptivism

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Ingrid Tieken

I’m very proud to be able to announce the first substantial publication from the Bridging the Unbridgeable project: the papers from the workshop that preceded the Leiden Prescription conference, called Attitudes to Prescriptivism (A2P), organised by Robin Straaijer, Carmen Ebner, Viktorija Kostadinova … Continue reading →

Posted in events, news | 1 Comment

Linguistic Girl Power

Posted on August 11, 2015 by Carmen Ebner

We have dealt with numerous language issues such as the oddly misplaced apostrophe, the dangling participle and the new “like” on our blog, but what interests me in particular are the social factors that may or may not pull the strings behind the scene. … Continue reading →

Posted in usage features | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Jack Lynch on (correct) usage

Posted on August 7, 2015 by Ingrid Tieken

Reading Jack Lynch’s The Lexicographer’s Dilemma (2009), I (re)discovered his usage guide, called The English Language: A User’s Guide, originally published in 2008. I then also found his very useful alphabetically arranged website (called Guide to Grammar and Style), filled with usage advice: … Continue reading →

Posted in usage guide | Tagged | Leave a comment