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Bad English: Ammon Shea takes on language purists

We hear from Ammon Shea, the author of a new book, Bad English: A History of Linguistic Aggravation, in which he takes down much of what we think we know about the English language....
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The Current23:58Bad English: Ammon Shea takes on language purists - June 19, 2014

There are good arguments to keep the language tidy, but they don't impress actor Stephen Fry...

Writer Ammon Shea shares at least some of those opinions. And he knows a fair bit about language, given that his previous book required him to read the entire Oxford English Dictionary. He refers to himself -- at least on Twitter -- as a "professional annoyance" and a researcher.
 

By the time you have noticed a usage being misused, it is far too late for you to do anything to stop it.-AmmonShea


Ammon Shea is the author of Bad English: A History of Linguistic Aggravation. He joined us from New York.


Are you part of the language police? Or are you ready to accept less formal English?

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This segment was produced by The Current's Dawna Dingwall .

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