Category Archives: news

Fowler’s Modern English Usage: new but not New

Posted on March 27, 2015 by Robin Straaijer

It was February 1997, and Robert Burchfield’s The New Fowler’s Modern English Usage had been out for three months. Just as the 1st and 2nd editions of the Dictionary of Modern English Usage came to be known as ‘Fowler’, The Economist asked itself whether the … Continue reading →

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A Dutch letter-to-the-editor: at last!

Posted on March 24, 2015 by Ingrid Tieken

I have been watching NRC Handelsblad (a quality Dutch daily newspaper) ever since the start of the Bridging the Unbridgeable project for letters to the editor that deal with usage problems, but without any luck. Until last night! And interestingly, … Continue reading →

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What kind of grammar nerd are you?

Posted on March 4, 2015 by Carmen Ebner

Today is National Grammar Day in the US and to celebrate this joyful occasion, Grammarly, a company providing a spell checker and grammar checker with the same title, has published a quiz: What kind of grammar nerd are you? It contains questions on … Continue reading →

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David vs Goliath: Oliver Kamm’s take on English usage

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Carmen Ebner

I have to admit that reading usage guides can get somewhat boring. Their authors, most of them prescriptivists and literally old-school, frequently use a similar set of usage problems discussing them in a similar manner and expressing similar attitudes. If … Continue reading →

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New in English Today: A Fuss about the Octopus

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Inge Otto

The March issue of English Today includes the latest feature article from our project in which I discuss the options English has to refer to more than one ‘octopus’ as well as a usage rhyme written on this specific topic. Four … Continue reading →

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The future of English

Posted on January 23, 2015 by Morana Lukač

At the turn of the calendar year, we are usually making (soon-to-be-broken) resolutions and speculating about the future. It comes as no surprise that linguists have been exchanging their views on the future of English in the previous weeks, John … Continue reading →

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The first American usage guide

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Ingrid Tieken

In the post today: my copy of Seth T. Hurd’s Grammatical Corrector, the first American usage guide, published in 1847, and found on ebay. It is in better condition than the ebay picture suggested: it has a green cover, and a … Continue reading →

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Miracles of Human Language

Posted on November 21, 2014 by Morana Lukač

We are excited to announce the new online linguistics course offered by Prof. Marc van Oostendorp from Leiden University. The course is designed as an introduction for anyone interested in how language works and how it gives insight into the … Continue reading →

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On November 7, The Washington Post published my review of Steven Pinker’s The Sense of Style. You can read it on their website here. It also appeared in the print newspaper on the same day under the title ‘The Sense of Style,’ … Continue reading →

Posted on November 18, 2014 by Robin Straaijer | 1 Comment

Steven Pinker’s Sense of Usage

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Robin Straaijer

Last month, Steven Pinker’s The Sense of Style was published in Britain and the US. As a specialist on books of usage advice, and as someone who needs to write for a living, I find The Sense of Style interesting because it … Continue reading →

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