A book published in 1991 by Chambers and called ‘Making Sense of English Usage’ by David Crystal was given to me recently. A slim thing – a mere 127 page paperback – as Mr Crystal says “… this book is … a personal collection of the famous, the fascinating, and the fringe, chosen with the same kind of quirky sentiment as will be encountered in any other anthology.” In fact, it sits quite well alongside Anu's book, but has less humour.
The book is simple and not written in a ‘formal’ style, not everyone would find it of value, its strength is approachability and it is designed to stimulate interest as well as answer some questions. There is continual contrast between what the usage manuals say and what is happening in real life! The Preface expresses an approach to language that, I believe, is pretty much identical to Anu’s and to what drives this board. I thought you might like to read some of it. Any clumsiness is due to my contractions, not to Mr Crystal.
“… I have learned that the majority of enquirers are not people seeking authority or reassurance; they are simply people interested in language, curious about language change, and puzzled about why things are happening in the way they are … insofar as they do want some guidance, they want this delivered in a sensible and objective way, and not thrust down their throats … people should be able to learn from their experience of using a usage book … to be told what is happening to the language … Space needs to be devoted to describing not only the usage variation itself, but the factors which have led to it – insofar as they are known … one thing is certain … as soon as the language begins to change, someone will be along to worry about it or to condemn it … wishing that matters were simpler, wishing that things wouldn’t change – in short wishing that language wasn’t language … if you (come to this book) expecting to see a clear and authoritative statement about what is right and what is wrong, you will be highly disappointed. I am not speaking with the voice of infallibility … this is a restricted and personal selection of what the language has on offer … if you are curious about the effects of linguistic change on language, and are looking for connections and explanations, and if you have previously found the stance of usage books unpalatable in their superior attitude and oversimplification … then you should extract some satisfaction and, I hope, enjoyment from my approach, which I offer as a first step in getting to grips with this intriguing subject.”
