Judging language correctness: a visual framework
Only last year, debates over the correctness or incorrectness of written language use made front page news.
Jacob Rees-Mogg’s style guide for his staff prompted more column inches than most linguists, grammarians or copy editors would have thought possible on such a dry topic. Including some from this commentator. Not all the opinions were complimentary.
And I don’t really like adding to the tally of column inches on JRM.
But the debate prompted me to revisit a visual tool I use in my shortcourse classes at City, University of London to try to help students conceptualise the idea of correctness.
When is it legitimate to challenge something on grounds that it’s incorrect? And when is it not?
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