Says who? : a kinder, funner usage guide for everyone who cares about words / Anne Curzan, Ph.D.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Curzan, Anne, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

English language--Usage.

English language.

English language--Grammar.

Genre:

Informational works.

Physical Description:

xiv, 319 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Crown, [2024]

Summary:

"A kinder, funner usage guide to the ever-changing English language and a useful tool for both the grammar stickler and the more colloquial user of English, from linguist and veteran professor Anne Curzan. Our use of language naturally evolves and is a living, breathing thing that reflects who we are. Says Who? offers clear, nuanced guidance that goes beyond "right" and "wrong" to empower us to make informed language choices. Never snooty or scoldy (yes, that's a "real" word!), this book explains where the grammar rules we learned in school actually come from and reveals the forces that drive dictionary editors to label certain words as slang or unacceptable. Linguist and veteran English professor Anne Curzan equips readers with the tools they need to adeptly manage (a split infinitive?! You betcha!) formal and informal writing and speaking. After all, we don't want to be caught wearing our linguistic pajamas to a job interview any more than we want to show up for a backyard barbecue in a verbal tux, asking, "To whom shall I pass the ketchup?" Curzan helps us use our new knowledge about the developing nature of language and grammar rules to become caretakers of language rather than gatekeepers of it. Applying entertaining examples from literature, newspapers, television, and more, Curzan welcomes usage novices and encourages the language police to lower their pens, showing us how we can care about language precision, clarity, and inclusion all at the same time. With lively humor and humanity, Says Who? is a pragmatic and accessible key that reveals how our choices about language usage can be a powerful force for equity and personal expression. For proud grammar sticklers and self-conscious writers alike, Curzan makes nerding out about language fun"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Who's in charge here? Inner grammando vs. inner wordie showdown

Ain't: what get's into dictionaries, and how

Double negatives: how rules become rules

"PC" language: why emotions run high

What does that word mean? The funnest chapter

Verbing

Feeling hopeful about hopefully

Quite literally

Because like

Gender-neutral chairs

What's the difference? Ask, aks, and asterisk

Counting less/fewer things

Data and other disputed plurals

Different from/than between and among

Driving safe or safely

Well, I'm good

Having proved or proven it

Which pronoun to pick? The singularity of they

For who(m) the bell tolls

Between you and me/I/myself

None is/are confusing

Which-hunting

Where does that punctuation go? Commas, commas, and commas

Rolling stops with semicolons

The wild west of dashes and hyphens

When it's its and other apostrophe conundrums

Bequeathing capital letters

How stylish is that sentence To boldly split infinitives

Prepositions not to end a sentence with

When and can start a sentence

The perceived danger of danglers

Passives were corrected

Why writing doesn't "flow"

Epilogue. Navigating grammandos and good sense.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Curzan, Anne. Says who?

ISBN:

9780593444092

0593444094

OCLC:

1389605998

Publisher Number:

99996650215