Correct English

Reality or Myth?

Geoffrey Marnell

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English

Dennis Jones & Associates
05 January 2015

Language: history & general works; linguistics

Writing is a form of expression, as is painting and composing music. No one has the right to tell artists to paint in a particular way or composers to compose in a particular way. So don’t we have a right to talk and write as we please?

"Appallingly ignorant!" "Standards are plummeting!" Such are the cries of many a purist when they encounter language they do not like. But perhaps it is the purists who are ignorant for failing to see that language cannot be correct or incorrect, right or wrong.

As this book shows, to call any way of writing incorrect - such as starting a sentence with and or but - is just as silly as calling a lampshade dishonest. It is what philosophers call a category mistake. Writing can be unconventional or ambiguous, but not incorrect or wrong. Despite the purists’ fears, the English language is not going to the dogs. Change does not necessarily dilute a language. If it did, English speakers would have lost the ability to communicate centuries ago. Instead, English has become the lingua franca of the world. Language is an evolutionary gift and, like all gifts, we should be allowed to do with it what we please.

So a more tolerant attitude towards language is needed, one that respects the creativity and lust for novelty that defines Homo sapiens - and one that will eradicate the anxiety many suffer when they have to put pen to paper or give a talk. What this attitude should be is explored in this book.

By: Geoffrey Marnell
Imprint: Dennis Jones & Associates
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 210mm, Width: 142mm, Spine: 16mm
Weight: 354g
ISBN: 9780994150202
ISBN 10: 0994150202
Publication Date: 05 January 2015
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Out of Print

Reviews for Correct English: Reality or Myth?

Correct English: Reality or Myth? is an important book. As far as I know, it is the first of its genre that can justifiably be regarded as being significantly a work in applied philosophy. The issues it addresses, as well as those it hints at in passing (e.g. national policies for language), deserve further study and should become part of a more broadly envisaged philosophy of language. Professor Emeritus Karl Pfeifer, Department of Philosophy, University of Saskatchewan, Metapsychology, 2017, vol. 21, iss. 10. This book is one of the most interesting I've read in the 20-odd years since I took up my profession [as an editor]. It is a high heroic counterattack on behalf of those people whose lives have been blighted by the overweening authoritarianism of prescriptive linguists. The author ... is clearly a skilled, intelligent and experienced writer, and in my opinion his heart's in absolutely the right place. [It is] a highly recommended book ... with treasures for any writer, editor or proofreader. Read it and learn from it! Caroline Petherick, Editing Matters, July/August 2015, p. 13.