Language is an ever-changing and developing expression of human
personality, and does not grow well under rigorous direction. —
C. L. Wrenn, The English Language What grammarians say should be
has perhaps less influence on what shall be than even the more
modest of them realize; usage evolves itself little disturbed by
their likes & dislikes. And yet the temptation to show how
better use might have been made of the material to hand is
sometimes irresistible. — H. W. Fowler, A Dictionary of Modern
English Usage This rather long post was prompted by an entry on
the Oxford University Press blog, in which Alexandra D’Arcy
writes about her interest in language usage and how it was
shaped by, but contrasts with, her grandmother’s prescriptivist
approach. Although Ms. D’Arcy did not inherit her relative’s
severity towards language, she acknowledges the love of words
and their application that lay behind it, and that influenced
her own career choice (sociolinguistics) and feelings about
language. Prescriptivism and d