Originally published: 2009. Includes bibliographical references (p. 279-313) and index.
Contents:
Vulgarities of speech : homo sapiens learns to speak -- The age in which I live : John Dryden revises his works -- Proper words in proper places : Jonathan Swift demands an academy -- Enchaining syllables, lashing the wind : Samuel Johnson lays down the law -- The art of using words properly : Joseph Priestley seeks genuine and established principles -- The people in these states : Noah Webster Americanizes the language -- Words, words, words : James Murray surveys anglicity -- The taste and fancy of the speller : George Bernard Shaw rewrites the ABCs -- Direct, simple, brief, vigorous, and lucid : Henry Watson Fowler shows the way -- Sabotage in Springfield : Philip Gove stokes the flames -- Expletive deleted : George Carlin vexes the censors -- Grammar, and nonsense, and learning : we look to the future.
Summary:
What does proper English mean, and who gets to say what's right? Lynch has discovered every rule of English usage has a human history, and makes sense only in a historical context. They're more like rules of etiquette, made by fallible people and subject to change.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.