Grammar Matters: The Social Significance of How We Use Language (Semaphore)

It is hard to find someone who doesn't have a pet peeve about language. The act of bemoaning the decline of language has become something of a cottage industry. High-pofile, self-appointed language police worry that new forms of popular media are contributing to the sloppiness, imprecision and general disregard for the rules of grammar and speech. Within linguistics, the term *prescriptivism* is used to refer to the judgements that people make about language, based on the idea of correct and incorrect forms and uses of language. This book argues that prescriptivism is unfounded at its very core, and explores why it is, nevertheless, such a popular position. In doing so it addresses thepolitics of language: what the positions taken in public engagement with language reveal about our uses of power, authority and various social prejudices.