English usage is a subject as wide as the English language itself. By
far the greater part of usage, however, raises no controversies and
poses no problems for native speakers of English, just because it is
their natural idiom. But there are certain limited areas --particular
sounds, spellings, words, and constructions--about which there arises
uncertainty, difficulty, or disagreement. The proper aim of a usage
guide is to resolve these problems, rather than describe the whole of
current usage. The Oxford Guide to English Usage has this aim. Within
the limits just indicated, it offers guidance in as clear, concise, and
systematic a manner as possible. In effecting its aims it makes use of
five special features, explained below.
1. Layout. In the Guide the subject of usage is divided into four
fields: word formation, pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. Each
field is covered by a separate section of the book, and each of the four
sections has its own alphabetical arrangement of entries. Each entry is
headed by its title in bold type. All the words that share a particular
kind of spelling, sound, or construction can therefore be treated
together. This makes for both economy and comprehensiveness of
treatment. Note that Pronunciation is in two parts: A deals with the
pronunciation of particular letters, or groups of letters, while B is an
alphabetical list of words whose pronunciation gives trouble. Easy PDF
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2. Explanation. The explanations given in each entry are intended
to be simple and straightforward. Where the subject is inevitably
slightly complicated, they begin by setting out familiar facts as a
basis from which to untangle the complexities. The explanations take
into account the approaches developed by modern linguistic analysis, but
employ the traditional terms of grammar as much as possible. (A
glossary of all grammatical terms used will be found in FRONT_2.
Technical symbols and abbreviations, and the phonetic alphabet, are not
used at all.
3. Exemplification. Throughout Vocabulary and Grammar and where
appropriate elsewhere, example sentences are given to illustrate the
point being discussed. The majority of these are real, rather than
invented, examples. Many of them have been drawn from the works of some
of the best twentieth-century writers (many equally good writers happen
not to have been quoted). Even informal or substandard usage has been
illustrated in this way; such examples frequently come from speeches put
into the mouths of characters in novels, and hence no censure of the
style of the author is implied. The aim is to illustrate the varieties
of usage and to display the best, thereby making it more memorable than a
mere collection of lapses and solecisms would be able to do.
4. Recommendation. Recommendations are clearly set out. The blob °
is used in the most clear-cut cases where a warning, restriction, or
prohibition is stated. The square Ü is occasionally employed where no
restriction needs to be enforced. The emphasis of the recommendations is
on the degree of acceptability in standard English of a particular use,
rather than on a dogmatic distinction of right and wrong. Much that is
sometimes condemned as 'bad English' is better regarded as appropriate
in informal contexts but inappropriate in formal ones. The
appropriateness of usage to context is indicated by the fairly rough
categories 'formal' and 'informal', 'standard', 'regional', and
'non-standard', 'jocular', and so on. Some of the ways in which American
usage differs from British are pointed out.
5. Reference. Ease of access to the entry sought by the user is a
priority of the Guide. The division into four sections, explained
above, means that (roughly speaking) only a quarter of the total range
of pages need be looked through in order to find a particular entry.
Within each section there are many cross-references to other entries;
hypertext links are provided for these entries. In addition to the four
main sections described at 1 above, the Guide has three appendices: A is
an outline of the principles of punctuation; B lists some of the
cliches and overworked diction most widely disliked at present; and C
gives a brief description of the characteristics of the five major
overseas varieties of English. Concise as it is, the Guide may be found
by individual users to cover some ground that is already familiar and
some that they consider it unnecessary to know about. It is impossible
for an entry (especially in the field of grammar) not to include more
facts than are strictly part of the question which the entry is designed
to answer. Language is a closely woven, seamless fabric, not a set of
building blocks or pigeon-holes, capable of independent treatment; hence
there are bound to be some redundancies and some overlap between
different entries. Moreover, every user has a different degree of
knowledge and interest. It is the compiler's hope, however, that all
will be instructed and enriched by any incidental gains.
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