Bad Language (Penguin language & linguistics)

by Peter Trudgill (Author), Lars-Gunnar Andersson (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  1992

  $3.25

  The title of this book is intended ironically. The main thrust of this book is to argue that one should think twice before condemning particular forms of language or linguistic usages. Written by linguists, it takes the linguist's objective view but is written in non-technical language so that it can be accessible and entertaining to a large audience. Topics covered include swearing, slang, dialects, accents and jargon.

• Used

  Hardcover
  1990

  $3.25

  Generations of school teachers have railed bitterly against the bad grammar and slovenly pronunciation of their pupils. Parents have for decades bemoaned the swearing and sloppy diction of their children. Public figures become enraged about jargon and linguistic corruption in the nation's press. Employers deplore the inarticulacy and limited vocabularies of their staff. And everyone knows that spelling and punctuation are not what they were. What is all this complaining about? Why do otherwise sane people become so apoplectic about other people's language? What are the roots of this linuistic prejudice? The authors of this book take a dispassionate look at negative attitudes to language use and try to account for the various types of hostility. They argue that most types of bad language have their place, and should be seen as valuable parts of the nation's linguistic repertoire. Linguistic discrimination, they suggest, should be no more acceptable in an enlightened and tolerant society than discrimination on grounds of race or sex. The work is aimed at undergraduates and specialists in English language and linguistics and the general reader.