Category Archives: MA Leiden

Not The Nine o’Clock Parrot Sketch

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Ingrid Tieken

And here is another blog post from one of the students from my MA course Testing Prescriptivism, this time from Richard Bond: ‘Not The Nine o’Clock News’ (NTNON) has a short skit that I found on YouTube. When I saw this clip … Continue reading →

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Is it Prestigious to use Prestigeful?

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Ingrid Tieken

During the next few months, the students from my MA course Testing Prescriptivism will be writing posts for this blog. This first one is from Annemarie Walop. It might be very telling that as I am writing this, Microsoft Word puts a … Continue reading →

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The ain’t forecast:

Posted on May 28, 2013 by xhlo

For the past 150 years, the ain’t forecast has been mostly heavy showers with some sunny patches – much like a European summer – but how do things look now? Here is a brief run-down of the prescriptivists-family reaction to … Continue reading →

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Shampoos and Language Usage Reviews

Posted on May 6, 2013 by xhlo

This week, reading English Usage Book reviews, sociological issues to do with language communities, and a couple of blogs on Americanisms/Britishisms, I noticed two things: one is that, for the most part, commentators on the correct usage of English, despite … Continue reading →

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The more merry the merrier?

Posted on April 7, 2013 by xhlo

Over coffee today a Dutch friend of mine told me how surprised she had been when listening to a radio station the other day and hearing the phrase ‘… meer prominente plekken’. The context was a radio broadcast on the … Continue reading →

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MA course on prescriptivism at Leiden

Posted on March 14, 2013 by BtU Admin

Next academic year, Ingrid Tieken-Boon van Ostade is offering an MA course on prescriptivism at the University of Leiden. The course, which will be called “Testing Prescriptivism”, is part of the MA track English Language and Linguistics, but is open … Continue reading →

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Baker and the apostrophe

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Beatriz Medina Sánchez

Baker’s Reflections (1770) includes, among others, rules on the proper usage of the apostrophe (XXV). According to his remarks, this punctuation mark ought to be avoided when the writer intends to indicate a plural and he also encourages the audience … Continue reading →

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Brief account of the evolution of Spanish prescriptivism

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Beatriz Medina Sánchez

In the 13th century the process of standardization of the Castilian language started when Alphonse Xth, the Wise (1252-1284), ) acknowledged it as the official language. Likewise, Antonio de Nebrija wrote the 1st Spanish grammar in 1492 wherewith one of … Continue reading →

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