Usage Of The English Language
The English language is constantly growing and changing. Necessity or fashion is always creating new words. Traditional grammarians examine the usage of these new words, as well as older more established words. The traditional grammarians have upheld the standards of language usage for centuries. Opposing the traditional grammarians is the group called the structural linguists, or structuralists. The structuralists challenge the traditionalists by the insistence of freedom of expression through efficiency and limitation of guidelines. The debate between the traditionalists and the structuralists is not new, and because of the constant changes and growth of the English language, it ...
Want to read the rest of this paper?
Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay
and over 50,000 other term papers
|
a person’s character, level of education, and their social class. For this reason usage was kept in a formal state and English grammarians devoted themselves to “refining, ascertaining, and fixing” the language (Bishop xxii). “The traditionalists maintain that language is subject to a higher morality and those who care about the preservation of language must defend traditional values in the face of growing laxity and permissiveness” (Numberg xxvi). Good grammar consists of conformity to the rules proposed by the traditionalists and should be used correctly in the construction of sentences. Bad grammar is anything that deviates from these rules. As strongly as the traditionalists feel about their view of grammar, the structuralists are just as devoted to their own ideas.
The structuralists insist that good grammar is a useful way of expressing oneself with the greatest efficiency through the more casual use of grammar. They also believe that artistic freedom allows one to ...
Get instant access to over 50,000 essays.
Write better papers. Get better grades.
Already a member? Login
|
seat,” “radio antenna,” “bank account,” “business day,” and “college student” just to name a few.
As society becomes more sophisticated, and medicine, science, and technology introduce new concepts, new words are developed as a necessity to understand those new concepts. Science and technology take the lead in creating new admissible words for use by society. Some examples of new technology related words include “computer,” “cyberspace,” “internet,” “email,” “software,” “mouse,” and “modem.” These are all terms related to “computer” technology, which is continually growing and changing. Some examples of new medical related terms include “chemotherapy,” “AIDS,” “CAT-scan,” “MRI,” ...
Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library.
Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports,
and research papers in 2 minutes or less.
|
CITE THIS PAGE:
Usage Of The English Language. (2007, February 3). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Usage-Of-The-English-Language/59751
"Usage Of The English Language." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 3 Feb. 2007. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Usage-Of-The-English-Language/59751>
"Usage Of The English Language." Essayworld.com. February 3, 2007. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Usage-Of-The-English-Language/59751.
"Usage Of The English Language." Essayworld.com. February 3, 2007. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Usage-Of-The-English-Language/59751.
|
Save
Report