Category Archives: Uncategorized

Class in British society

Posted on August 7, 2013 by Ingrid Tieken

In relation to my research on John Honey, I’ve decided I need to read more on the British class system. Joan Beal already told me about the discussion on the subject in VariationList (thanks to which I read John Rickford’s … Continue reading →

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The world’s worst written sentence

Posted on August 7, 2013 by Carmen Ebner

Consider the following sentence: “Yet the nightmare cast its shroud in the guise of a contagion of  a deer-in-the-headlights paralysis.”   According to columnist at The Economist, the above sentence would qualify to be nominated as “the world’s worst written … Continue reading →

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Would your mum understand?

Posted on July 7, 2013 by Carmen Ebner

In the past few months, Education Secretary Michael Gove, a former journalist, has hit the front page with his plans to introduce new grammar and spelling tests in UK schools. Now he is back in the headlines: “Would your mum … Continue reading →

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Does Only spelling Matter? A Word from the Creator of the Text of the Dutch Spelling Contest

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Inge Otto

Yesterday the Volkskrant introduced the composer of the text of the 24th edition of the Grand Dictation of the Dutch Language (het Groot Dictee der Nederlandse Taal), a Dutch spelling contest that is scheduled to be broadcast on 18 December … Continue reading →

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An Academy of English?

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Carmen Ebner

Even if Great Britain never had an Academy of English similar to the France’s Académie Française or the Spain’s Real Academia Española, authority is still assigned to different bodies. But to whom? The desire for having a standard to hold … Continue reading →

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Why learn to spell correctly? I have a spelling checker

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Anoeska Bronswijk

Many people find spelling unimportant. And if they do find it important, they sometimes still believe there is no need to learn to spell correctly since we have a spelling checker. Therefore, let me illustrate the flaws of this useful … Continue reading →

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Preserving students’ self-esteem?

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Ingrid Tieken

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 →

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Publication history Fowler ctd.

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Ingrid Tieken

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 →

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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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The aim of my REsearch

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Ingrid Tieken

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 →

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