Alphabet to Email: How Written English Evolved and Where It's Heading

by Baron,Naomi S.

• ISBN13: 9780415186865
• ISBN10: 0415186862
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2001-05-29
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Naomi Baron examines the history of written English, the impact of the digital age on it, and the implications for its future. In the fast moving world of email, spelling and punctuation take a back seat to content that is more like spoken conversations than anything else. Permanence and formality are becoming disposable anachronisms of written English. Baron proclaims, we are not powerless to affect these changes.

Author Biography

Naomi S. Baron is Professor of Linguistics at the Department of Language and Foreign Studies at American University

Table of Contents

List of Figures	x
Preface	xi
Robin Hood's Retort	1	(25)
Legitimating Written English	26	(22)
Who Writes, Who Reads, and Why	48	(47)
Setting Standards	95	(48)
The Rise of English Comp	143	(24)
Commas and Canaries	167	(30)
What Remington Wrought	197	(19)
Language at a Distance	216	(31)
Why the Jury's Still Out on Email	247	(13)
Epilogue: Destiny or Choice	260	(10)
Notes	270	(15)
Bibliography	285	(20)
Name Index	305	(6)
Subject Index	311