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

Does grammar still have a place in the digital generation of tweeting and autocorrect? Using “real-world” examples from newspapers and magazines published on one day – 29 December 2009 – English professor Frank L. Cioffi aims to prove how the “ethics of language use” helps us to communicate clearly and effectively.

Grammar handbooks – the “proverbial ugly duckling of textbooks”, in Cioffi’s words – come in a proliferation of levels, styles and approaches, often enforcing outmoded rules such as never starting sentences with conjunctions or splitting infinitives. But – language is constantly changing and updating. How do we use words...