Fixing English: Prescriptivism and Language History

Introduction: does prescriptivism fail? 1. Prescriptivism's umbrella: standards, style, restoration, and political intervention 2. Prescriptivism's lessons: scope and 'The history of English' 3. Checking grammar and grammar checkers 4. Dictionaries and the idea of 'real words' 5. Non-sexist language reform and its effects 6. Reappropriation and challenges to institutionalized prescriptivism 7. Finding shared ground: public conversations about prescriptivism.