In a message dated 8/16/06 9:49:55 AM, [log in to unmask] writes:


> it is the case that as the language changes it tends to change in informal 
> registers before the change creeps into more formal usage.  Teaching register 
> as a part of teaching grammar is a good way to acquaint students with 
> notions of appropriateness and of change in progress.
> 
Good point, Herb.   But I guess what I'm puzzled by is how to know when a 
change has been accepted for writing in a fair(ly) formal register . . . like the 
New York Times.




Peter Adams

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