[log in to unmask] wrote:
>
> The implication of "Green English" is clear.  Usage panels should consist
> not of scholars but of rich people.  If Fortune 500 CEO's like "between
> you and I," then "between you and I" it is.
>
Well, the only reason for the difference between 'scholar usage' and CEO
usage is the increased compartmentalization and specialization of our
society .... back when English was being standardized, the usage
authorities were wealthy folk who also happened to be scholars. No
accident that their usage became 'correct' usage. Nowadays, CEO's are
rarely scholars.

Do linguists count as scholars?  Linguists would certainly recognize
that 'between you and I' is gaining acceptability, and will probably
eventually be standard. In fact, if linguists were the only usage
authorities, they would probably deem 'between you and me' and 'between
you and I' equally acceptable alternatives. As Walt Whitman wrote, the
masses are the ultimate language authority.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Johanna Rubba   Assistant Professor, Linguistics
English Department, California Polytechnic State University
One Grand Avenue  • San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
Tel. (805)-756-2184  •  Fax: (805)-756-6374 • Dept. Phone.  756-259
• E-mail: [log in to unmask] •  Home page: http://www.calpoly.edu/~jrubba
                                       **
"Understanding is a lot like sex; it's got a practical purpose,
but that's not why people do it normally"  -            Frank  Oppenheimer
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