Prescriptive Grammarians - Who Are They?

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Anonymous  #163944  Mon, 28 Nov 05 10:16 PM
If you are at a University try checking their library for works by the two prescriptive grammarians mentioned above. Often libraries if they don't have a hard copy, have access to online databases such as the "Archive of Americana" by Readex. Here you can find both Dr. Robert Lowthe's (1710-1787) work "A short introduction to the English Grammar" as well as many of the works by Lindley Murray (1745-1826). I would also recommend Edwin Newman, a contemporary prescriptive grammarian. He came out with a book entitled "Strictly Speaking: Will America be the Death of English?" that should be readily available at a bookstore or a library.

I would however note that most of these grammarians explain the so-called problems of English with "logic", but as the above post stated they try to impose Latin rules on a Germanic language which in and of itself is illogical. Most of the problems they see with language had been used for centuries, and are still being used today. Most, in fact, have become norms for the English language. Lists of words including the word "shall" in addition to many others were considered wrong, but as I'm sure you know are quite acceptable in today's English.

I hope this was of some help to you.


  
Alienvoord  #297271  Fri, 24 Nov 06 06:09 PM
"Proper English" by Robert Wardhaugh is a good overview of the history of English prescriptive grammar.
  
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