If you’ve ever participated enthusiastically in an online discussion on a topic of interest, only to have it go off the rails because someone wrote “could care less,” or used the word literally in a figurative sense, my new book is for you.
Word Rage, How To Stop Worrying and Learn to Love Your Language, covers most of the topics that spark heated online “grammar” debates.
In this collection of essays, American-English speakers of every stripe will find explanations and reviews that may help them recognize the fact that what we call “English” is made up of hundreds of dialects, all of which are equal as modes of communication.
At the same time, Word Rage emphasizes the value of being able to speak and write a standard version of English in addition to one’s home dialect.
In these times of divided loyalties and tribal identities, many people imagine that “expressing one’s individuality” requires embracing only one mode of dress and one register of language, regardless of context.
No question, the language one speaks is an important aspect of one’s personality, but language is also a social interface. Now, more than ever, Americans need to be able to make themselves understood to one another.
The best way to communicate with people not like ourselves is in a standard form of English that does not trigger negative emotions in the listener.
Word Rage is available at Amazon in both print and Kindle formats.
