Bad Language

Bad Language
Lars Andersson; Peter Trudgill
Basil Blackwell, 1990

Review:
As much as I think this book treats a very important issue, I can't help but feel that it does so a little trudgingly. I realise that it's written for readers with no linguistic background, but even so, I think the average reader would find the style too belittling. Other than that it's an excellent book; it gives several very good examples of why grammar-nazism is often founded in an irrational fear of change rather than any linguistic motivation, and how it tends to be arbitrary, inconsistent and rooted in snobbery and group membership. For this reason I think it could be a soothing read for those who work themselves up about "incorrect" language use, showing them that this "degeneration" is part of a normal evolutionary process, and that language inevitably sorts itself out.

Rating: Good