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Bad Languages. Are some words better than others?

Autor Edwin L. Battistella

Editorial OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

Bad Languages. Are some words better than others?
15,10€
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  • Publisher OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
  • ISBN13 9780195337457
  • ISBN10 019533745X
  • Type Book
  • Pages 230
  • Published 2005
  • Language English
  • Bookbinding Rustic

Sections

Linguistics

Bad Languages. Are some words better than others?

Autor Edwin L. Battistella

Editorial OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

15,10€
Not available, ask for avalaibility
Free shipping on orders over 19€
Mainland Spain
FREE shipping from €19

to mainland Spain

24/48h shipping

5% discount on all books

FREE pickup at the bookstore

Come and be surprised!

Book Details

Is today's language at an all-time low? Are pronunciations like cawfee and chawklit bad English? Is slang like my bad or hook up improper? Is it incorrect to mix English and Spanish, as in Yo quiero Taco Bell? Can you write Who do you trust? rather than Whom do you trust? Linguist Edwin Battistella takes a hard look at traditional notions of bad language, arguing that they are often based in sterile conventionality. Examining grammar and style, cursing, slang, and political correctness, regional and ethnic dialects, and foreign accents and language mixing, Battistella discusses the strong feelings evoked by language variation, from objections to the pronunciation NU-cu-lar to complaints about bilingual education. He explains the natural desire for uniformity in writing and speaking and traces the association of mainstream norms to ideas about refinement, intelligence, education, character, national unity and political values. Battistella argues that none of these qualities is inherently connected to language. It is tempting but wrong, Battistella argues, to think of slang, dialects and nonstandard grammar as simply breaking the rules of good English. Instead, we should view language as made up of alternative forms of orderliness adopted by speakers depending on their purpose. Thus we can study the structure and context of nonstandard language in order to illuminate and enrich traditional forms of language, and make policy decisions based on an informed engagement. Re-examining longstanding and heated debates, Bad Language will appeal to a wide spectrum of readers engaged and interested in the debate over what constitutes proper language.

Sections

Linguistics