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Re: [Phys-l] Trigg's Rules of Grammar - Challenged

At 03:07 AM 1/22/2008, Anita Pincas, you wrote:
////
for Bernstein, as for most linguists, notions of correctness [of the
dictionary and school grammar book kind] are partly manifestations of
social exclusion by one class against another, and partly just plain
conservative resistance to (inevitable) change.

Anita


Bernstein's 'Class Exclusion' thing sounds specially British to my eye.
There, one could expect a local accent to be distinguished when the speaker was sometimes less than ten miles from home,
Judgment on the basis of surface differences continued there, with observations of dress: so that a suit, white shirt and tie and polished shoes were the vital facets of business dress.

It is refreshing to hear that BBC rebroadcasts now feature many more regional accents, accessible world-wide via internet.

It is universally observed that American accents may characterize place still, but they almost never connote class & wealth - the same issue shows up with American dress patterns - there is a weak effect - but it is weak indeed.

Who would have dreamt that a popular BBC America Science Fiction TV series (Torchwood) would not only feature an urbane, mysterious American flyer time traveller who tends to kiss male assistants on screen, but a vibrant Cardiff locale?

There is another noticable effect of internet based social behavior - spelling errors are ignored; indeed, pointing out spelling errors as a debating gambit is socially punished.



Brian Whatcott Altus OK Eureka!