好文章,坏文章(Good Writing, Bad Writing)

despitethemoderndesiretobeeasyandcasual,americansfromtimetotimegivethoughttothelanguagetheyuse,togrammar,vocabulary,andofficiallanguages.and,asonotherissues,theydivideintotwoparties.

thelarger,whichincludeseverybodyfromtheplainpeopletotheprofessionalwriter,takesforgrantedthatthereisarightwaytousewordsandconstructsentencesandmanywrongways.therightwayisbelievedtobeclearer,simpler,morelogical,andhencemorelikelytopreventerrorandconfusion.goodwritingiseasiertoread;itoffersapleasantcombinationofsoundandsense.

againstthismajorityviewisthedoctrineofanopposingminority,whomakeupfortheirsmallnumberbytheirgreatlearningandtheirplaceofauthorityintheschoolsystemandtheworldofscholarship.theyaretheprofessionallinguists,whodenythatthereissuchathingascorrectness.

thelanguage,theysay,iswhatanybodyandeverybodyspeaks.hencetheremustbenointerferencewithwhattheyregardasaproductofnature.theydenounceallattemptsatguidingchoice.

withintheprofessionoflinguiststhereare,ofcourse,fightingfactions,but,onthisconceptionoflanguageasanaturalgrowthwithwhichitiscriminaltointerfere,theyareatone.intheirargumentsonefindsappealstofeelingsofsocialequality(allwordsandformsareequallygood)andindividual

freedom.thesebeliefsfurthersuggestthatthedesireforcorrectness,theveryideaofbetterorworseinspeech,iswhatisleftoverfromnobleandtimes.tothelinguists,changeistheonlyruletobeobeyed.theyconsiderittobeequalwithlifeandaccusetheircriticsofbeingclock-reverses,enemiesoffreedom,menacesto"life".