First, be sure to do Wednesday’s reading and then answer the following:
- In “Correctness” Williams portrays correctness as “historical accident”. How are the “rules of grammar” of Standard Written English (SWE) based in “historical accident”?
- Again, in “Correctness”, how does Williams suggest that we navigate these “rules of grammar” some of which have dubious bases of authority? Can we ignore the rules of standard English entirely? How might that be dangerous? Should we follow all of the rules all the time? How might that be detrimental?
Second, choose just one of the many “invented rules” that Williams details on pages 17-26. Have you ever been taught this “rule” before? How easy or difficult is it for you to understand and follow? What do you understand about it? What don’t you? Try to create your own an example of this “rule” (one that Williams hasn’t used).
ONLY 300 WORDS
