LINGUIST List 12.1403

Mon May 21 2001

Books: Written English

Editor for this issue: Naomi Ogasawara <naomilinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Sean Hanrahan, Written English: Alphabet to Email; How Written English Evolved and Where It's Heading, by Naomi S. Baron

Naomi S. Baron, American University, ALPHABET TO EMAIL How
Written English Evolved and Where It's Heading

"Alphabet to Email is one of those rare publishing hybrids:
scholarly yet accessible, historically full yet currently
relevant, theoretically aware yet practically illustrated.
It refreshed the parts that other books on the history of
writing have not so far been able to reach."
-David Crystal, University of Wales, Bangor

"Written in a lively, anecdotal style, it should be useful
In undergraduate collections and enjoyed by its intended
audience of linguists, teachers of composition and TESOL,
computer specialists, and the educated lay person."
-Choice

Highly Commended in the English-Speaking Union Duke of
Edinburgh's English Language Award 2000, Alphabet to Email
is now available in paperback. In this book, Naomi Baron
examines the history of written English, the impact of the
digital age on it, and the implications for its future. In
the fast moving world of email, spelling and punctuation
take a back seat to content that is more like spoken
conversations than anything else. Permanence and
formality are becoming disposable anachronisms of written
English. Baron proclaims, we are not powerless to affect
these changes.

Routledge June 2001 336 pp 7 illus
PB 0 415 18686 2 $18.95 �11.99

Preface
1.Robin Hood's Retort
2.Legitimating Written English
3.Who Writes, Who Reads, and Why
4.Setting Standards
5.The Rise of English Comp
6.Commas and Canaries
7.What Remington Thought
8.Language at a Distance
9.Why the Jury's Still Out on Email
10.Epilogue: Destiny or Choice
Notes
Bibliography
Index