Tag Archives: prescriptivism

Ian McEwan’s metalinguistic comments

Posted on January 2, 2023 by Ingrid Tieken

During the final month of 2022 I read two of Ian McEwan’s novels, an earlier one, Saturday (2005), and his most recent Lessons (2022). Ever since reading his short story “Mother tongue” (2001) I’ve been keeping track of his metalinguistic … Continue reading →

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Interactive TeamWork survey

Posted on July 28, 2022 by BtU Admin

On 28 October 2022, TeamWork will be organising a workshop session, called “The mysteries of brackets and old grammar chestnuts”. For more information as well as to register for this event, see the TeamWork website. One of the workshops will … Continue reading →

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Is there a German complaint tradition?

Posted on December 14, 2021 by Ingrid Tieken

Milroy and Milroy, in Authority in Language (first published in 1985, but with a fourth edition in 2012), argue that English has a complaint tradition, with people writing Letters to the Editor about linguistic problems they encounter and usage guides … Continue reading →

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Roadkill’s scriptwriters

Posted on October 22, 2021 by Ingrid Tieken

For a paper I’m writing on the use of who/whom I’m trying to get in touch with the scriptwriters of Roadkill, a British political thriller series that was broadcast in the UK and the US towards the end of 2020 … Continue reading →

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Le Carré’s main character spinning in his grave

Posted on October 17, 2021 by Ingrid Tieken

Reading another spy novel by John Le Carré, this time Absolute Friends (2003), I didn’t expect to come across any metalinguistic comments relating to prescriptivism since most of the novel is situated in Germany. But I did find this absolute … Continue reading →

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The project continues …

Posted on September 1, 2021 by Ingrid Tieken

The Bridging the Unbridgeable project officially ended nearly five years ago, but almost all of us are presenting a paper at the next Prescriptivism Conference, held online (no fee!) at the University of Vigo from 23 – 25 September 2021. … Continue reading →

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Lowth in the Economist

Posted on February 17, 2020 by Ingrid Tieken

It doesn’t happen very often that Lowth (or indeed myself!) gets a mention in The Economist! Thanks, Alison, for letting us know. (Can anyone help me find the author of the piece? I’d like to tell him/her about my new … Continue reading →

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More than th-fronting

Posted on June 13, 2017 by Ingrid Tieken

I keep on looking for instances of prescriptivism or metalinguistic comments on prescriptive issues in English literature. My call for examples in English Today recently did not produce any more examples unfortunately. The solution? Keep on reading, and even rereading. … Continue reading →

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Soon out now: Prescription and Tradition in Language

Posted on August 30, 2016 by Ingrid Tieken

Some of you may remember the wonderful Prescriptivism Conference we held here at Leiden in June 2013: I’m very happy to be able to announce the publication of the collection of articles that resulted from it in only a few … Continue reading →

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Can your local accent hold you back?

Posted on May 17, 2016 by Morana Lukač

Do people need to change their local accents to get on in life? The answer is “yes” according to those advocating a prescriptivist approach to language use who often emphasize that in professional settings and in job interviews local accents … Continue reading →

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