There is, of course, a history of literature countering the linguistic shamans, as Dwight Bolinger labels them in his _Language:  the Loaded Weapon_ (Longman 1980).  Pinker also has a relevant chapter in his Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, as surprisingly inexpensive reference work every English teacher should have, right next to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage.  You can buy them both and still have money left for dessert.

Herb

-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Brett Reynolds
Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2010 8:24 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Walking with Geoffrey Layton
Importance: Low

On 2010-03-02, at 7:17 AM, Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar wrote:

> I recently read the work of a rational and fully competent editor and writer Lynne Truss, Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation (Gotham Books, 2003), and would recommend it to all English teachers.

And if you enjoyed that, you really should also read _The Fight for English: How Language Pundits Ate, Shot, and Left_ by David Crystal.

Best,
Brett

-----------------------
Brett Reynolds
English Language Centre
Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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