Her Ladyship's Guide to the Queen's English

Her Ladyship's Guide to the Queen's English
Author: Caroline Taggart
Publisher: Batsford
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016-07-14
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9781849943697

Her Ladyship's guide to speaking and writing better English. Wherever you are, whatever the company, good English will always stand you in good stead. The world's most important language has a number of difficult areas and pitfalls, and almost all of us have some area to improve, whether it's how to spell 'millennium', how to pronounce 'schedule' the English way (as opposed to the American way), or find the correct word for the 'toilet' when talking to bishops and barons. Her Ladyship's Guide quickly takes you through the major problem areas. It covers: common mistakes in grammar (which will belie a lowly upbringing), common misspellings, commonly misused words, and the all-important choice of words and phrases to use in posh society with a pronunciation guide.

Her Ladyship's Guide to Greeting the Queen

Her Ladyship's Guide to Greeting the Queen
Author: Caroline Taggart
Publisher: Batsford Books
Total Pages: 167
Release: 2016-08-08
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 1849944202

Choosing how to behave in unfamiliar situations is one of the many minefields with which modern life abounds. In this amusing yet practical guide to modern manners, Her Ladyship offers invaluable advice on every aspect of etiquette, both royal and everyday. With guidance on basic good manners in a range of situations, whether at home, at work or abroad, as well as advice on what to wear when, eating out and dating, you will never again worry about awkward or embarrassing encounters. If you've ever wondered how to meet and greet the Queen and other royals, how to correctly address party invitations or about elegant ways of sitting down, standing up and getting in and out of cars, this guide is for you.

Describing Prescriptivism

Describing Prescriptivism
Author: Ingrid Tieken-Boon van Ostade
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 222
Release: 2019-10-08
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0429558147

Describing Prescriptivism provides a topical and thought-provoking analysis of linguistic prescriptivism in British and American English, from a historical as well as present-day perspective. Focusing on usage guides and usage problems, the book takes a three-fold approach to present an in-depth analysis of the topic, featuring: a detailed study of the advice provided in usage guides over the years; an authoritative comparison of this advice with actual usage as recorded in British and American corpora, including the HUGE (Hyper Usage Guide of English) database – developed specifically to enable this line of study – as well as more mainstream corpora such as COCA, COHA and the BNC; a close analysis of the attitudes to particular usage problems among the general public, based on surveys distributed online through the "Bridging the Unbridgeable" research project’s blog.* With extensive case studies to illustrate and support claims throughout, this comprehensive study is key reading for students and researchers of prescriptivism, the history of English and sociolinguistics. *Found at https://bridgingtheunbridgeable.com/

English Usage Guides

English Usage Guides
Author: Ingrid Tieken-Boon van Ostade
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2018
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0198808208

This volume explores both historical and current issues in English usage guides or style manuals. Chapters look at how and why these guides are compiled, and by whom; what sort of advice they contain; how they differ from grammars and dictionaries; and how attitudes to usage have changed.

Standardising English

Standardising English
Author: Linda Pillière
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 299
Release: 2018-03-15
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 110812609X

This path-breaking study of the standardisation of English goes well beyond the traditional prescriptivism versus descriptivism debate. It argues that the way norms are established and enforced is the result of a complex network of social factors and cannot be explained simply by appeals to power and hegemony. It brings together insights from leading researchers to re-centre the discussion on linguistic communities and language users. It examines the philosophy underlying the urge to standardise language, and takes a closer look at both well-known and lesser-known historical dictionaries, grammars and usage guides, demonstrating that they cannot be simply labelled as 'prescriptivist'. Drawing on rich empirical data and case studies, it shows how the norm continues to function in society, influencing and affecting language users even today.

Dynamics of Language Changes

Dynamics of Language Changes
Author: Keith Allan
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2020-08-31
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9811564302

This book explores the dynamics of language changes from sociolinguistic and historical linguistic perspectives. With in-depth case studies from all around the world, it uses diverse approaches across sociolinguistics and historical linguistics to answer questions such as: How and why do language changes begin?; how do language changes spread?; and how can they ultimately be explained? Each chapter explores a different component of language change, including typology, syntax, morphology, phonology, semantics, lexicology, discourse strategies, diachronic change, synchronic change, how the deafblind modify sign language, and the accommodation of language to song. This book presents a comprehensive analysis of the dynamics of language change over time, simultaneously advancing current research and suggesting new directions in sociolinguistic and historical linguistic approaches.

Norms and Conventions in the History of English

Norms and Conventions in the History of English
Author: Birte Bös
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
Total Pages: 223
Release: 2019-06-15
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9027262462

This volume explores changing norms and conventions in the English language, as displayed in a broad range of historical data from more than five centuries. The contributions discuss the interplay of sociocultural conditions, specific discourse traditions and structural aspects of language, paying special attention to the communities where norms and conventions are displayed and shaped in verbal interaction. The volume is enriched by systematic terminological clarifications, interdisciplinary approaches and the introduction of new methods like network analysis and advanced analytical tools and forms of visualisation into the diachronic investigation of historical texts.

English Historical Linguistics

English Historical Linguistics
Author: Laurel J. Brinton
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 433
Release: 2017-07-03
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1108179487

Written by an international team of leading scholars, this engaging textbook on the study of English historical linguistics is uniquely organized in terms of theoretical approaches and perspectives. Each chapter features textboxes, case studies, suggestions for further reading and exercises, enabling students to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each approach and guiding them on undertaking further research. The case studies and exercises guide students in approaching and manipulating empirical data, providing them with hands-on experience of conducting linguistic research. An extensive variety of approaches, from traditional to contemporary, is treated, including generative approaches, historical sociolinguistic and pragmatic approaches, psycholinguistic perspectives, grammaticalization theory, and discourse-based approaches, as well as perspectives on standardization and language variation. Each chapter applies the concepts discussed to data from the history of English, and a glossary of key terms enables easy navigation and quick cross-referencing. An essential resource for advanced undergraduate and graduate students of the history of English linguistics.

The Routledge Handbook of Linguistic Prescriptivism

The Routledge Handbook of Linguistic Prescriptivism
Author: Joan C. Beal
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 523
Release: 2023-05-05
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1000857131

This handbook provides a comprehensive and cutting-edge overview of the field of linguistic prescriptivism. Mapping the current status quo of the field and marking its two-decade transformation into a serious field of study within linguistics, this volume addresses both the value and the methods of studying prescriptivism. It covers: • Theoretical and methodological approaches – from historical to experimental approaches and including corpus-based methods and attitudes research; • Contexts in which prescriptive efforts can be both observed and studied – including in education, technology, the media, language planning and policies, and everyday grassroots practices; • Geographical contexts of prescriptivism – featuring chapters on inner- and outer-circle Englishes, English as a Lingua Franca, as well as prescriptivism in the context of other world languages including minority and endangered languages. With contributions from an international line-up of leading and rising-star scholars in the field, The Routledge Handbook of Linguistic Prescriptivism marks the evolution of linguistics as a fully self-aware discipline and will be an indispensable guide for students and researchers in this area.