Founding Grammars: How Early America's War Over Words Shaped Today's Language

A "lively and revealing" history of America's obsession with grammar-from the debate over double negatives to the influence of frontier vernacular (Kirkus Reviews).

Standard grammar and accurate spelling are widely considered hallmarks of a good education, but their exact definitions are much more contentious-capable of inciting a full-blown grammar war at the splice of a comma. With an accessible and enthusiastic approach, Ostler considers these grammatical shibboleths, tracing current deb...