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A Word or Two Before You Go...
The renowned scholar and author of "Teacher in America" and "The House of Intellect," examines how the urge to be snobbish, prestigious, technical, scientific, and abstract has led the English language astray
204 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 1986
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About the author
Jacques Barzun
130 books209 followersWorks of French-American educator, author, and historian Jacques Martin Barzun include
Darwin, Marx, Wagner
(see Charles Robert Darwin, Karl Marx, and Richard Wagner) (1941) and
The American University
(1968).
He presented ideas and culture.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques...
He presented ideas and culture.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques...
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 30, 2019
Standard English or standard American is what Barzun champions, along with its proper and clear use. These are distinct matters: a couple of essays speak of standard English being assailed by critics for an implicit denigration of dialect or regional speech, and Barzun maintains that the attack is short-sighted and far from being liberal or open minded. Much as David Foster Wallace does in his admirable essay, “Democracy, English, and the Wars over Usage”, Barzun observes that opportunities and experience in the wider world (outside one’s dialectical region, whether physical or social) requires the use of language that can be understood by everyone. This does not mean that there is no merit or inherent stigma in speaking in Cajun, Spanish, Maine, Black, or urban dialect—it means only that the dialect does not transmit across all social strata. This seems self evident, but Barzun cites those who endorse elevating public instruction in regional schools over a common, more universal language.
Clear use of our common language is another matter, and Barzun offers up several chapters that illustrate trends that vitiate the language’s ability to describe and adequately communicate. His nemesis in this debate is the descriptionist who maintains that a native speaker cannot speak anything other than “proper” English, simply because standard (American) English is the amalgam of all native speakers. While not denying that the language is continually in flux, ever evolving, Barzun draws a line at giving liberty to alterations in the language that are born of malapropism, misguided neologies, misunderstood metaphor, and deceitful euphemism.
Some chapters celebrate and honor toilers in the field, writers and wordsmiths whose works have for a moment in time fixed aspects of the language. In lamenting an American updating of Henry Watson Fowler’s Dictionary of Modern English Usage (1926) which appeared in the 50s, Barzun expresses his fondness for the idiosyncratic, entertaining essays that compose Fowler’s original work. H.L. Mencken is also given his due as a lexicographer and satiric guardian of the American language. Barzun is especially taken with a reference book that appears in the 50s, one that he finds an almost inexhaustible source of labyrinthine histories: Eric Partridge’s Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English.
And finally, throughout, there are Barzun’s own curmudgeonly proscriptions and citations of vulgar and misguided usage, which are in many instances just matters of taste, including hyphens (and the loss of the diaresis), confusion of transitive and intransitive verbs, overuse of the word “personal”, the misguided attempt to create a Basic English, too frequent use of acronyms, et al. These chapters show Barzun at his most prickly, and they are entertaining for the vehemence of his assaults on the perpetrators of these infelicities.
All in all, a good read, if you are at all interested in good writing (Barzun is a masterfully clear writer) and the lapses that are possible in our own writing due to our often unconscious immersion in a verbal culture that is awash with jargon, deceit, error, and obfuscation.
Clear use of our common language is another matter, and Barzun offers up several chapters that illustrate trends that vitiate the language’s ability to describe and adequately communicate. His nemesis in this debate is the descriptionist who maintains that a native speaker cannot speak anything other than “proper” English, simply because standard (American) English is the amalgam of all native speakers. While not denying that the language is continually in flux, ever evolving, Barzun draws a line at giving liberty to alterations in the language that are born of malapropism, misguided neologies, misunderstood metaphor, and deceitful euphemism.
Some chapters celebrate and honor toilers in the field, writers and wordsmiths whose works have for a moment in time fixed aspects of the language. In lamenting an American updating of Henry Watson Fowler’s Dictionary of Modern English Usage (1926) which appeared in the 50s, Barzun expresses his fondness for the idiosyncratic, entertaining essays that compose Fowler’s original work. H.L. Mencken is also given his due as a lexicographer and satiric guardian of the American language. Barzun is especially taken with a reference book that appears in the 50s, one that he finds an almost inexhaustible source of labyrinthine histories: Eric Partridge’s Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English.
And finally, throughout, there are Barzun’s own curmudgeonly proscriptions and citations of vulgar and misguided usage, which are in many instances just matters of taste, including hyphens (and the loss of the diaresis), confusion of transitive and intransitive verbs, overuse of the word “personal”, the misguided attempt to create a Basic English, too frequent use of acronyms, et al. These chapters show Barzun at his most prickly, and they are entertaining for the vehemence of his assaults on the perpetrators of these infelicities.
All in all, a good read, if you are at all interested in good writing (Barzun is a masterfully clear writer) and the lapses that are possible in our own writing due to our often unconscious immersion in a verbal culture that is awash with jargon, deceit, error, and obfuscation.
April 7, 2021
Though Barzun is very obviously and deeply knowledgeable about the English language, his essays come across as curmudgeonly and more than a bit superior.
June 29, 2024
Great fun. Perfect for dipping into without the need for consistent consumption. Timeless lessons.
July 8, 2007
If you've already digested Elements of Style, this is the best book for writers of prose in the English language.
Jacques is cranky as hell, but would you want to learn writing discipline from a softie?
Jacques is cranky as hell, but would you want to learn writing discipline from a softie?
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews