grammer errors
Chapter 1 distinguishes between prescriptive and descriptive grammars. Familiarize yourself thoroughly with this contrast before doing this assignment.
As Chapter 1 notes, we are surrounded by “prescriptivists” (and we probably all have a prescriptive side, i.e. we have strong opinions as to how language is used wrong(ly?) by ourselves and especially by others). Here are some common opinions: I hate it when people say ‘he had went there; It’s ‘athlete’ not ‘a-the-lete!’;There is no such word as ‘procede’. It’s ‘precede’; or Why do people feel like they have to say ‘You got it’ instead of ‘You’re welcome?
Your task is to do an informal survey among the people in your immediate environment and report on your findings in this forum. Ask people around you what annoys/bothers them about how others use language; What do they think are some common mistakes people make when speaking English, etc. Are there things that they believe they are not saying correctly? Ask follow up questions when relevant. Why does a particular expression bother them? What should people say instead? Do not argue with your informants while you are collecting the data (You can do that afterwards if you are so inclined ;-). Report on your findings in the form of a brief essay. In your write up also reflect on what your informants’ responses reveal (implicitly or explicitly) about their beliefs about proper language use. Do you agree with them? If so why or why not? Relate your observations to the textbook’s distinctions between grammatical and ungrammatical sentences, descriptive and prescriptive grammars, language varieties and the concept of ‘modification’.
I expect you to come up with at least five opinions. Your response should be approximately three to five paragraphs in length.
