Standard English: The Widening Debate - Hardcover

Bex, Tony; Watts, Richard J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0415191629 ISBN 13: 9780415191623

Publisher: Routledge, 1999

Synopsis

Standard English draws together the leading international scholars in the field, who confront the debates surrounding 'Standard English', grammar and correctness head-on.
These debates are as intense today as ever and extend far beyond an academic context. Current debates about the teaching of English in the school curriculum and concerns about declining standards of English are placed in a historical, social and international context. Standard English:
* explores the definitions of 'Standard English', with particular attention to distinctions between spoken and written English
* traces the idea of 'Standard English' from its roots in the late seventeenth century through to the present day.
This is an accessible, seminal work which clarifies an increasingly confused topic. It includes contributions from: Ronald Carter, Jenny Cheshire, Tony Crowley, James Milroy, Lesley Milroy and Peter Trudgill.

About this title

About the Author:

Tony Bex is at the University of Kent. His previous publications includes Variety of Written English (1996). Richard J. Watts is at the University of Bern.

Review:

'Lively, vastly informative, scholarly - this is a notably accessible, seminal overview of a complex and as yet unresolved linguistic and educational puzzle.' - The Library Association Record

'It highlights the problems in ascertaining exactly what constitutes SE (Standard English)' - Frances Austin, English Studies, Vol. 82, Feb 2001

'Bex and Watts deserve our thanks for reminding us that the attempt to ascertain a standard and fix it for ever is a vain ambition.' - Alan Davies, Applied Linguistics Vol 22 2001

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0415191629
• ISBN 13: 9780415191623
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 324