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Right, and they're free to do so, just don't try to justify it by saying it's "correct". I'm not saying we should write poorly, or deliberately sloppily, just i

Right, and they're free to do so, just don't try to justify it by saying it's "correct". I'm not saying we should write poorly, or deliberately sloppily, just it's at the author or editor's preference. I'd support this guy if he said "I hate 'comprised of' and so I am changing it where I can", but the idea that there's somehow a logical argument justifying it is silly. Appeal to authority is particularly silly in the context of linguistics. If you like MLA style, do that. I personally love a little extra diaeresis and the oxford comma, but I wouldn't make them the law.

ghaff 4y ago
>and the oxford comma, but I wouldn't make them the law Oh, I would :-) But I do reluctantly conform to AP style in certain contexts. That said, there is a certain appeal to authority mindset if you're looking for mainstream non-fiction (and a lot of fiction as well) publication. Maybe "correct" isn't the right term but "accepted practice" or something along those lines which boils down to more or less the same thing.
- appletrotter 4y ago
  Someone has already pointed out that this attitude can be described as a “prescriptivist” attitude. A prescriptivist will say that a term is “correct,” a descriptivist will say a term is “commonly accepted.” Personally, this is what I say to prescriptivists: if they want a language with legally defined rules - they should learn French.
  - School-Cotton 4y ago
    The rules of French are not really legally defined; that’s a common misconception. Yeah, there is a state-funded cultural organization in France called the Académie française that claims that regulating the language is part of its mandate, but its “decisions” have no legal effect whatsoever and are widely ignored, even by the government and education system.
  - wolverine876 4y ago
    Descriptivists also say, 'this way works better'.
- wolverine876 4y ago
  > I do reluctantly conform to AP style in certain contexts Why AP style - written specifically for journalists - instead of all the other styles such as APA, Chicago, etc. etc.?
  - ghaff 4y ago
    The contexts are blog posts and press releases often targeted at journalists, who will often copy-paste sections, so standard company stye is to write in a way that conforms to what they use so they don't need to fix it up. Otherwise, I/we use Chicago and Oxford comma.
    - wolverine876 4y ago
      That makes sense.
giardini 4y ago
"Comprised of" grates at my mind: the sooner that phrase and the authors using it are cast into Hell the better! https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/can-you-use-comprised-of-grammar https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/can-you-use-co...

ghaff 4y ago

>and the oxford comma, but I wouldn't make them the law Oh, I would :-) But I do reluctantly conform to AP style in certain contexts. That said, there is a certain appeal to authority mindset if you're looking for mainstream non-fiction (and a lot of fiction as well) publication. Maybe "correct" isn't the right term but "accepted practice" or something along those lines which boils down to more or less the same thing.

appletrotter 4y ago
Someone has already pointed out that this attitude can be described as a “prescriptivist” attitude. A prescriptivist will say that a term is “correct,” a descriptivist will say a term is “commonly accepted.” Personally, this is what I say to prescriptivists: if they want a language with legally defined rules - they should learn French.
- School-Cotton 4y ago
  The rules of French are not really legally defined; that’s a common misconception. Yeah, there is a state-funded cultural organization in France called the Académie française that claims that regulating the language is part of its mandate, but its “decisions” have no legal effect whatsoever and are widely ignored, even by the government and education system.
- wolverine876 4y ago
  Descriptivists also say, 'this way works better'.
wolverine876 4y ago
> I do reluctantly conform to AP style in certain contexts Why AP style - written specifically for journalists - instead of all the other styles such as APA, Chicago, etc. etc.?
- ghaff 4y ago
  The contexts are blog posts and press releases often targeted at journalists, who will often copy-paste sections, so standard company stye is to write in a way that conforms to what they use so they don't need to fix it up. Otherwise, I/we use Chicago and Oxford comma.
  - wolverine876 4y ago
    That makes sense.

giardini 4y ago

"Comprised of" grates at my mind: the sooner that phrase and the authors using it are cast into Hell the better! https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/can-you-use-comprised-of-grammar https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/can-you-use-co...