About this item
Who decided not to split infinitives? With whom should we take issue if in fact, we wish to boldly write what no grammarian hath writ before? In Founding Grammars, Rosemarie Ostler delves into the roots of our grammar obsession to answer these questions and many more. Standard grammar and accurate spelling are widely considered hallmarks of a good education, but their exact definitions are much more contentious - capable of inciting a full-blown grammar war at the splice of a comma, battles readily visible in the media and online in the comments of blogs and chat rooms. With an accessible and enthusiastic journalistic approach, Ostler considers these grammatical shibboleths, tracing current debates back to America's earliest days, an era when most families owned only two books - the Bible and a grammar primer.
About the Author
Rosemarie Ostler loves delving into the rich record of American slang and language use. Her books showcase the colorful language of America's past, including obsolete twentieth-century slang, the origins of our most common expressions, and the grammar rules of earlier times. She also writes articles on a range of language-related topics. Her byline has appeared in The Saturday Evening Post, American History, Time.com, Christian Science Monitor, Huffington Post, and the Elks magazine, among other places. She lives in Eugene, Oregon, where she is currently at work on a book about how early Americans invented their own brand of English.
