Author Archives: BtU Admin

What are “usage guides” called in other languages?

Posted on October 21, 2011 by BtU Admin

The usage guide seems a typical English – British as well as American – phenomenon, though one of our commenters, Nadia Petrova, has already drawn our attention to the fact that they are also popular in Russia today. But what … Continue reading →

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Your favourite usage guide?

Posted on October 18, 2011 by BtU Admin

“How can our listeners help you?” was a question Tom Holland asked  when he interviewed Ingrid Tieken on the BBC Radio 4 programme Making History (broadcast: Tuesday 18 October 2011). Listeners of Making History can help us by telling us … Continue reading →

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Snares in pairs: lie/lay and others

Posted on October 17, 2011 by BtU Admin

Paul Bennett, one of the commenters in this blog, offers language advice to the readers of his website. There is a wealth of information in his Quick Language Guide for Writers, and of particular interest there is his section called … Continue reading →

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The French Academy goes interactive

Posted on October 14, 2011 by BtU Admin

Earlier this week, an article appeared in The Independent called “Language watchdog goes interactive to teach French to the French”. It reports on the fight against English influence on French by the Academie Française. Words criticised are stresser, as in “C’était stressant … Continue reading →

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A bibliography of prescriptivism

Posted on October 11, 2011 by BtU Admin

We are currently compiling a bibliography of prescriptivism. There are of course various publications we know about, such as the following: Bennett, Karen (2009) ‘English academic style manuals: a survey’, Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 8: 43-54. Bex, Tony … Continue reading →

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Fowler, Garner or …?

Posted on October 7, 2011 by BtU Admin

Which usage guide do you normally consult? We’d be interested in finding out about readers’ preferences for particular usage guides. What do you consult them for (that is, if you do consult them …), and how frequently? Do you always find … Continue reading →

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Earlier use of the new “like”?

Posted on October 6, 2011 by BtU Admin

Mesthrie et al. (Introducing Sociolinguistics 2nd ed., 2009:117-8) discuss “three newer uses” of like, the “quotative” use (I’m like why did you do that), the use of like as a hedge (My parents like hate you) and the use of like as … Continue reading →

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Attitudes to usage: second poll

Posted on October 5, 2011 by BtU Admin

This poll asks for your attitudes to the acceptability of the next five items in Attitudes to English Usage, by W.H. Mittins, Mary Salu, Mary Edmonson, and Sheila Coyne (OUP, 1970). If you haven’t done the first poll yet, please do … Continue reading →

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Prescriptivism in different linguistic fields

Posted on October 4, 2011 by BtU Admin

Lynne Truss’s Eats Shoots and Leaves (2003) deals with punctuation, while Fowler’s Modern English Usage (1926 and later editions) deals with grammar and lexis. Do we find usage guides in fairly equal numbers for all linguistic fields, spelling, punctuation, grammar, … Continue reading →

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Prescriptivism and sociolinguistics

Posted on October 4, 2011 by BtU Admin

One of the few introductions to sociolinguistics that includes a discussion on prescriptivism is Mesthrie et al.’s Introducing Sociolinguistics (2nd ed. 2009, Edinburgh University Press). On p. 110, the book defines prescriptivism as “the dominant ideology in language education [which] … Continue reading →

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