One Day in the Life of the English Language: A Microcosmic Usage Handbook

Frank L. Cioffi

ISBN 10: 0691165076 / ISBN 13: 9780691165073

Published by Princeton University Press, 2015

About this Item

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: One Day in the Life of the English Language: A Microcosmic Usage Handbook
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication Date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0691165076
• ISBN 13: 9780691165073
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 373 grams

About this title

Synopsis

A one-of-a-kind handbook that uses a day in the life of written English to illustrate the benefits of effective grammar

Generations of student writers have been subjected to usage handbooks that proclaim, "This is the correct form. Learn it"―books that lay out a grammar, but don't inspire students to use it. By contrast, this antihandbook handbook, presenting some three hundred sentences drawn from the printed works of a single, typical day in the life of the language―December 29, 2008―tries to persuade readers that good grammar and usage matter.

Using real-world sentences rather than invented ones, One Day in the Life of the English Language gives students the motivation to apply grammatical principles correctly and efficiently. Frank Cioffi argues that proper form undergirds effective communication and ultimately even makes society work more smoothly, while nonstandard English often marginalizes or stigmatizes a writer. He emphasizes the evolving nature of English usage and debunks some cherished but flawed grammar precepts. Is it acceptable to end a sentence with a preposition? It is. Can you start a sentence with a conjunction? You can. OK to split an infinitive? No problem.

A grammar and usage handbook like no other, One Day in the Life of the English Language features accessible chapters divided into "Fundamentals," "Fine Tuning," and "Deep Focus," allowing readers to select a level most suited to their needs. It also includes a glossary, a teachers' guide, and a section refuting some myths about digital-age English.

About the Author

Frank L. Cioffi is professor of English at Baruch College, City University of New York, and has taught writing at Princeton and Indiana universities and at Bard and Scripps colleges. He is the author of The Imaginative Argument: A Practical Manifesto for Writers (Princeton), among other books.