Robin Queen and Julie Boland, both from the University of Michigan, recently conducted a study on attitudes towards spelling variation, which has now been picked up by The Guardian. What they call “typos” and “grammos” are errors everyone has come across when using the internet … Continue reading
As part of our interactive feature series in English Today, the latest and ninth article has been published today in which I discuss attitudes towards the role of the media in language variation and change. In my online questionnaire, I asked informants … Continue reading
“I am a pedant. There is no question about it. Everyone I know would agree, and I accept and embrace it. I have no problem with being called a nerd, or a geek, or any synonyms of these words.” These … Continue reading
Imagine you’re sitting at a big table as part of a large group of people. It could be a cafe, it could be a restaurant, it could be a meeting at work. Some of the people at the table are … Continue reading
Latest conference headline: follow us on Twitter – hashtag #PrescrConf2013 new paper by Charlotte Brewer (University of Oxford) on prescriptivism and the English school curriculum. Here is the new abstract (Grammarian Gove). Registration for the Leiden conference Prescription and Tradition in Language on 12-14 June … Continue reading
This is crucial information which can save and change your life and the lives of others. You may be not aware of the impact your use of grammar, spelling and punctuation can have on your future. Texting ur beautiful to … Continue reading
Attitudes to Prescriptivism is the theme of a workshop that we will hold on Tuesday 11 June 2013as a ramp-up to the conference Prescription and Tradition in Language which will take place here at Leiden University. There is more information about the workshop on the … Continue reading
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Kingsley Amis distinguishes two types of people in his amusing usage guide The King’s English based on their attitudes and usage: berks & wankers. These terms he quite obviously uses in absolutely nothing else but their most strictly technical sense as … Continue reading
Bridging the Unbridgeable 