I've been posting a link to the Pullum piece on the websites for my grammar courses since it came out. It's always fun to watch the pieces fly when Pullum tears into something (I imagine if, by some odd chance, he ever tears into something I write, it won't be nearly as much fun, but still). A few of my students had had S&W foist upon them before, and they took a certain amount of satisfaction from reading the article. 


--- Bill Spruiell



-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar on behalf of Webmail bdespain
Sent: Sat 5/8/2010 1:05 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Pullum on Strunk and White
 
I read again the Pullum article and could not disagree with his opinion.
He gives enough background about the authors to make it understandable
that it is the publishers trying to make a buck that are to be blamed for
its popularity.  The unfortunate thing about it is that so many English
teachers have fallen into their snares.  It is time that grammar recovers
its rightful place in the school curriculam, but alas, there does not seem
to be a cadre of teachers prepared to take up the challenge.  I think it is
like trying to teach mathematics through reading and practice without a
sound basis in the principles or analytic skills involved.

Bruce

On Thu, May 6, 2010 at 7:15 PM, STAHLKE, HERBERT F <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>  About a year ago Geoffrey Pullum, one of the authors and editors of the
> Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, published a trenchant critique of
> Strunk and White's Elements of Style.  I believe there was brief discussion
> of the critique at the time, and the topic continues to come up on Language
> Log and other linguistic blog sites.  Pullum's critique is available at
> http://chronicle.com/article/50-Years-of-Stupid-Grammar-/25497/ and is
> worth a read-or a reread-as a critique of popular knowledge of grammar and
> even of grammatical knowledge among those of us apparently specialized in
> the area.  I'd be interested in what ATEG readers think of what Pullum has
> to say.
>
>
>
> Herb
> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface
> at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or
> leave the list"
>
> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>

To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at:
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
and select "Join or leave the list"

Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/


To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at:
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
and select "Join or leave the list"

Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/