Discusses Mary Augusta Jordan's "Correct Writing and Speaking," a rhetoric text authored for women who studied writing and speaking outside of the formal academy. Suggests that the text's attention to the history of the English language and the evolution of arbitrary standards imposed by cultural forces makes it subversively feminist.…

Notes differences of vocabulary, grammar, and usage in American English and British English which may cause difficulties. Maintains that, as international interchange of information increases, writers and editors must be alert to these differences and search for forms of expression common to both versions of English. (SR)

Discusses the prevalent trend in American English to verbify, that is to convert nonverbs into verbs. Offers criteria to help decide when to use verbified words. (SR)

America is a true melting pot, as exemplified by the diversity of students in our classrooms. Many are concerned with how teachers are providing instruction for the diverse groups of students they teach. Failure to embrace multiculturalism allows members of society to continue to promote disenfranchisement. For example, proponents of the complex,…

Discusses syntactic and stylistic errors in the language of advertising and the reason for these linguistic irregularities. Suggests ways of dealing with the problem. (EL)

Discusses the linguistic and social significance of titles and forms of address. Mentions the frequently occurring variants in American usage and laments the neglect of the topic in textbooks. (IFS/WGA)

Argues that the history of punctuation in the English-speaking world offers tangible evidence for the evolving interplay between speech and writing. (Author/VWL)

An essay compares Japanese and American language, reflecting on the fundamental culture-based differences between methods of communication in Japan and the United States. Japanese and Americans have different systems of logic and thought, attitudes, and ways of expressing themselves, all of which are affected by their respective background…

Argues that English used in the Mid-Atlantic United States should replace British English as the educational standard in Europe as the English spoken by Europeans is increasingly influenced by American English. The article discusses the political aspects of learning a specific variety of English and points out that the development of Mid-Atlantic…

Claiming that understanding the social context in which words are formed is necessary to appreciate the richness and vitality of language, this book presents an informal, discursive examination of how and why American speech came to be the way it is, and in particular where the words came from. The book follows a roughly chronological format from…

Finds that American English is slighted in favor of British English in German schools. Cites examples of differlng language norms which could cause misunderstandings. Finds that American usage deserves more attention because of the political and cultural importance of the United States. (IFS/WGA)

Surveys the distribution of "a" and "an" in both oral and written English. Journal availability: see FL 512 512. (AM)

Outlines major publishing houses' solutions to the common-gender singular pronoun problem. Maintains that the American English-speaking world employs different standards for speaking and writing, even in educated ranks. Argues that changing spoken language is probably hopeless. Proposes seven tactics through which to counter written grammar and…

Examines an aspect of colloquial American English in which linguistics and area studies are involved. Analyzes typical errors which lead to misunderstandings and discusses in detail the use of the expressions "excuse me" and "I'm sorry." (IFS/WGA)

The choice of a reliable authority for use in decisions of grammatical acceptability in English is discussed. It is argued that commonly-heard "rules" of English grammar offer advice that is either prescriptive or proscriptive, not descriptive, and often based on inaccuracies or flawed linguistic analyses. This is illustrated in the case of…