Johanna said:
 
>'Since' with the meaning 'because' has been used for a number of centuries
>now.
>
 
I take the import of her statement to be that the use of "since" to mean
"because" is a non-issue.
 
And isn't that one of the problems with the English-teaching
profession--that we focus on issues that are either trivial or made up and
ignore the big stuff, like teaching students to write "with clarity and
grace." (This comes from an editor who changes the "which" of restrictive
clauses to "that." How DO we get over these tendencies?)
 
Bill McCleary
 
William J. McCleary                     Editor: Composition Chronicle
Associate Prof. of English              Viceroy Publications
Coordinator of Secondary English        3247 Bronson Hill Road
SUNY at Cortland                        Livonia, NY 14487
607-753-2076                            716-346-6859
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