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Author Archives: Ingrid Tieken
New grammar tests in English schools
Marilyn Hedges, one of the readers of this blog, asked me to post the following: Formal grammar teaching in English schools stopped in the 1960s, as Anya Luscombe mentioned in her recent talk in Leiden. It seems as if the … Continue reading
Posted in news
Tagged grammar tests in schools, Guardian, spelling tests in schools, Telegraph
1 Comment
Bertie vs. Mr Brown
The film Mrs Brown (1997), featuring Judi Dench and Billy Connolly, includes an interesting scene from the point of view of prescriptivism. At one point (ca. 50 minutes into the film), Bertie, the Prince of Wales, addresses the pertinent Mr … Continue reading
Preserving students’ self-esteem?
In his book Spoilt rotten: the toxic cult of sentmentality (2011), Theodore Dalrymple writes: “a friend of mine who teaches history at Oxford is specifically enjoined by the guidelines provided for markers [of papers, exams] by the authorities not to mark … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged grammar mistakes, spelling errors, Theodore Dalrymple, University of Oxford
1 Comment
John E. Metcalfe?
Who was John E. Metcalfe? He appears to have been the author of a usage guide, called The Right Way to Improve your English. The book is cited by Milroy and Milroy (1999), but (apart from a couple of references to … Continue reading
Publication history Fowler ctd.
In an earlier post, I announced my attempts to reconstruct the publication history of Fowler’s Modern English Usage. This weekend, I was able to lay my hands on another copy of Fowler (my 8th!) at the same second-hand shop, and equally … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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Prescription conference papers
For a list of speakers at the prescription conference (University of Leiden, 12 – 14 June 2013) as well as for the abstracts of the plenary speakers, see the black bar above. The abstracts of the speakers will follow soon.
This blog in the Leiden University Yearbook for 2012
The Bridging the Unbridgeable blog got a mention in the University Yearbook Our World which appeared on the Leiden Dies, on 8 February. Read all about it on page 21.
Focussing? Focusing?
A while ago, I used to get phone calls from colleagues from all over the university with questions like how to write focussing, with single or double s. As a member of the English department I was expected to know these … Continue reading
Posted in usage features
Tagged Burchfield, focussing or focusing, fowler, Microsoft, spelling
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The aim of my REsearch
What is happening to the word “analysis”, or perhaps “study” (though this might be considered a bit grand for a student paper)? Marking large batches of BA and MA essays this month, I’m beginning to realise that this is developing … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
1 Comment
Donna and the Oxford Comma
During a British Academy lecture in 2011, David Crystal mentioned that language was rarely the object of a work of art. Well, here is a work of art created by Donna Piët for an exhibition called “Een Poging tot Nieuwe … Continue reading
Posted in news, usage features
Tagged David Crystal, Donna Piët, language as art, Lynne Truss, oxford comma
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