Describing Prescriptivism

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/