Imposing a Norm: The Invisible Marks of Copy-Editors

Book descriptionThis path-breaking study of the standardisation of English goes well beyond the traditional prescriptivism versus descriptivism debate. It argues that the way norms are established and enforced is the result of a complex network of social factors and cannot be explained simply by appeals to power and hegemony. It brings together insights from leading researchers to re-centre the discussion on linguistic communities and language users. It examines the philosophy underlying the urge to standardise language, and takes a closer look at both well-known and lesser-known historical dictionaries, grammars and usage guides, demonstrating that they cannot be simply labelled as 'prescriptivist'. Drawing on rich empirical data and case studies, it shows how the norm continues to function in society, influencing and affecting language users even today.International audiencePrinting and publishing have historically played an important role in standardising the English language, but we are usually unaware of the numerous changes made to a manuscript before it reaches the bookshop. Indeed, most readers probably do not even notice the name of the editor and would be surprised, even taken aback, to discover that a novelis more of a collaborative effort than first assumed