Linguistic
prescriptivism – starting to think about report 3
1. Choose a stigmatized construction from the list:
“It’s
me!” (not on the list!)
2. Find information about
it in a range of reference books
·
easier to find
specific lexical items in dictionaries,
e.g.
o
different
from/to/than (OED, different,
a. 1b)
o
its (OED, its, poss. pron.)
o
less “a smaller number of, fewer” (OED, less
a. (n.), adv., and conj A 1c)
o
like “as if” (OED, like, a. adv. (conj.)
n.2, 6e)
o
me “for the subjective pronoun I: predicative” (OED,
me, pron.1, n., and a. 5d)
§
but “It’s me” is like
“It’s her” and “This is he” … where do you stop?
·
grammatical
information isn’t always in desk dictionaries
o
for instance, there’s no
specific information relating to it’s me in the Canadian Oxford
Dictionary under be or I or me
Different grammars and usage books may classify the same feature in different places
·
alphabetical
dictionaries of usage
o
under I in Cambridge
Guide to English Usage
o
under I, me in Cassell
Dictionary of English Usage
o
under it’s me in Columbia
Guide to Standard American English
o
under it’s me and
me (and x-ref in pronouns) in Webster’s Dictionary of English
Usage
·
writing handbooks
o
under “pronouns” in Canadian
Writer’s Guide, Harbrace
·
traditional grammars
o
In the Comprehensive
Grammar of the English language: chapter “Pronouns” under ”case
forms”/”subjective and objective cases”
§
CP used the index
·
historical grammars
(e.g. Jespersen)
o
In the second volume on
syntax, in a chapter on “predicatives”, in a section called “Final words on
predicatives”
§
CP used index:
pronoun -> case -> in predicative
Obvious problem: You will
find the construction easier to find if you know what is supposed to be wrong
with it!
·
solution: start by blitzing sources designed for laypeople
o
writing handbooks, usage
manuals
o
in a good library:
Robarts 4th floor
·
reassurance:
o
the majority of the
class haven’t learned much traditional grammar formally,
o
the Cambridge
Encyclopedia of the English language is a very good guide to elementary
grammar
o
I’m happy to talk to you
at any stage of your report writing.
3. How is your construction labeled? Classify and interpret!
o
opposed to “theoretically”
o
opposed to “correct”
o
in same chapter as “do
not” and “avoid”
o
“nonstandard”, not
“Standard Formal”
o
opposed to “traditional”
o
“informal”
o
“conversational”
o
“acceptable”
o
in context with “actually”
4. Collect and classify
explanations for why your construction has been labeled as ‘wrong’ (etc.).
We use the subject form (she,
I) when the pronoun is the subject of the sentence.
S V O
I wrote a
book.
He baked a
cake.
Verbs like be connect
the subject of the sentence and its complement
S V SC
Fifi is a
professor. noun
She is competitive adjective
The winners were (she/her) and Biff
It is (I/me)
Pronouns should agree with
their antecedents, so both the subject and the subject complement
should be in the same subjective case
S V SC
It is I
This rule is characteristic
of statusful and inflectional languages like Latin.
5. Collect and classify explanations
for the existence and/or the persistence of your construction. Historical
sources might/not be relevant here.
o
French: it’s me
is parallel with c’est moi (much less likely)
o
Word position: speakers
unconsciously divide sentences into “subject territory”, before the verb, and
associate it with subject pronouns
She is an
electrician
“Object territory” comprises the verb and everything after it, and is associated with object pronouns
loves me
is me
6. Has your construction used extensively in the past? What arguments can be made from its non-/use? From the demographics of its users? Interpret info like the following:
Both appear in Shakespeare’s TN
o
“That’s mee I
warrant you”, “If this should be thee Maluolio”
o
“I knew ‘twas I”
Both used by men of education
o
e.g. Samuel Pepys,
“thinking verily it had been her” (diary)
o
e.g. Richard Steele: “it
is not me you are in love with” (Spectator)
Subject form used by
high-class characters in early drama
o
it was I
o
By Heavens, ‘tis she
7. Collect and classify information about the
modern distribution of your construction (linguistic, social)
It occurs more frequently in
some kinds of linguistic contexts.
o
when the pronoun is
final: It’s me
o
in spoken language
It occurs more frequently in
some kinds of social contexts
o
in casual speech
o
when you know the
speaker
It occurs less frequently in
some kinds of social contexts
o
formal writing
o
oratorical speech
It occurs less frequently in
some kinds of linguistic contexts
o
in a ‘cleft sentence’ /
before a following relative clause introduced by who
o
it’s I who suggested
it
o
it is we who must
shoulder the burden
o
its grammatical function
is less clear when the relative clause is objective
o
it was she/her that
John criticized
§
It was she …
§
John criticized her …
8. Collect and classify
and interpret information about the construction’s acceptability
o
not in oratorical speech
or formal writing
o
in all contexts
o
a matter of style, not a
matter of correctness
o
I: “more formal or more stuffy situations”, “gives a
stilted impression”
o
me: “real and fictional speech, a more relaxed writing
style”