Definition and Examples of Linguistic Purism

Purism is a  pejorative term in linguistics for a zealous conservatism in regard to the use and development of a language. Also known as  language purism, linguistic purism, and discourse purism. A purist (or grammaticaster)  is someone who expresses a desire to eliminate certain undesirable features from a language, including grammatical errors, jargon, neologisms, colloquialisms, and words of foreign origin. The problem with defending the purity of the English language, says James Nicoll, is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We dont just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary (quoted by Elizabeth Winkler in Understanding Language, 2015). Examples and Observations Like other tabooing practices, language purism seeks to constrain the linguistic behavior of individuals by identifying certain elements in a language as bad. Typically, these are words and word usage that are believed to threaten the identity of the culture in question--what 18th-century grammarians referred to as the genius of the language. Authenticity has two faces: one is the struggle to arrest linguistic change and to protect it from foreign influences. But, as Deborah Cameron claims, the prescriptive endeavors of speakers are more complex and diverse than this. She prefers the expression verbal hygiene over prescription or purism for exactly this reason. According to Cameron, a sense of linguistic values makes verbal hygiene part of every speakers linguistic competence, as basic to language as vowels and consonants. (Keith Allan and Kate Burridge, Forbidden Words: Taboo and the Censoring of Language. Cambridge University Press, 2006) Purism in the 16th Century I am of this opinion that our own tung shold be written cleane and pure, unmixt and unmangeled with borowing of other tunges, wherein if we take not heed by tiim, ever borowing and never paying, she shall be fain to keep her house as bankrupt. (John Cheke, Regius Professor of Greek at Cambridge University ­, in a letter to Thomas Hoby, 1561)- Sir John Cheke (1514-1557) was so determined that the English tongue should be preserved pure, unmixt and unmangeled . . . that he produced a translation of the gospel of St. Matthew using only native words, forcing him to coin neologisms (new words) such as mooned lunatic, hundreder centurion, and crossed crucified. This policy recalls an Old English practice in which Latin words like discipulus were rendered using native formations like leorningcniht, or learning follower, rather than by borrowing the Latin word, as Modern English does with disciple. (Simon Horobin, How English Became English. Oxford University Press, 2016) Purism in the 19th Century A certain Captain Hamilton in 1833 demonstrates the invective the British directed at the language used in America. He claims that his denunciation is the natural feeling of an Englishman at finding the language of Shakespeare and Milton thus gratuitously degraded. Unless the present progress of change be arrested by an increase of taste and judgment in the more educated classes, there can be no doubt that, in another century, the dialect of the Americans will become utterly unintelligible to an English man . . .. Hamiltons vituperation exemplifies a purist view of language, which allows only one fixed, immutable, correct version [and] which sees difference and change as degradation.(Heidi Preschler, Language and Dialect, in Encyclopedia of American Literature, ed. by Steven Serafin. Continuum, 1999) Brander Matthews on Lost Causes in the Early 20th Century The purist used to insist that we should not say the house is being built, but rather the house is building. So far as one can judge from a survey of recent writing the purist has abandoned this combat; and nobody nowadays hesitates to ask, What is being done? The purist still objects to what he calls the Retained Object in such a sentence as he was given a new suit of clothes. Here again, the struggle is vain, for this usage is very old; it is well established in English; and whatever may be urged against it theoretically, it has the final advantage of convenience. The purist also tells us that we should say come to see me and try to do it, and not come and see me and try and do it. Here once more the purist is setting up a personal standard without any warrant. He may use whichever of these forms he likes best, and we on our part have the same permission, with a strong preference for the older and more idiomatic of them. (Brander Matthews, Parts of Speech: Essays on English, 1901)D espite the exacerbated protests of the upholders of authority and tradition, a living language makes new words as these may be needed; it bestows novel meanings upon old words; it borrows words from foreign tongues; it modifies its usages to gain directness and to achieve speed. Often these novelties are abhorrent; yet they may win acceptance if they approve themselves to the majority. . . .To fix a living language finally is an idle dream, and if it could be brought about it would be a dire calamity.(Brander Matthews, What Is Pure English? 1921) Todays Peevers Language peevers write for one another. They are not really writing for the larger public; they do not expect to be heeded by the larger public, and it would not be desirable if they were. Their identities are predicated on the belief that they are an elect, purists holding up the flickering candle of civilization amid the rabble. They write for one another to reinforce this status. If everyone wrote as they prescribe, their distinction would vanish.Actually, there is a small additional audience of aspirants to the club: English majors, journalists, teachers pets in whose minds a handful of shibboleths lodge, to be applied mechanically and unintelligently thereafter. But the great unwashed public pays no attention and does not care, except to the extent that they have been schooled to feel vaguely uneasy about the way they speak and write.(John E. McIntyre, Secrets of the Peevers. The Baltimore Sun, May 14, 2014) The Grammaticaster Tradition Grammaticaster is a  pejorative  term for a  grammarian, especially one whos concerned with petty matters of  usage. - Ð Ã µ tells thee true, my noble neophyte; my little  grammaticaster, he does: it shall never put thee to thy mathematics, metaphysics, philosophy, and I know not what supposed sufficiencies; if thou canst but have the patience to plod enough, talk, and make a noise enough, be impudent enough, and tis enough.(Captain Pantilius Tucca in  The Poetaster, by Ben Jonson, 1601)- Nor have I much troubled their phrase and expression. I have not vexed their language with the doubts, the remarks, and eternal triflings of the French  grammaticasters.(Thomas Rhymer,  The Tragedies of the Last Age, 1677)- Such idiots, despite the rise of scientific pedagogy, have not died out in the world. I believe that our schools are full of them, both in pantaloons and in skirts. There are fanatics who love and venerate  spelling  as a tom-cat loves and venerates catnip. There are  grammatomaniacs; schoolmarms who would rather  parse  than eat; specialists in an  objective case  that doesnt exist in English; strange beings, otherwise sane and even intelligent and comely, who suffer under a  split infinitive  as you or I would suffer under gastro-enteritis.(H.L. Mencken, The Educational Process.  The Smart Set, 1922)  - Purist  is the most persistent of the many terms used to describe those people who concern themselves with correct English or correct grammar. Among other  epithets,  we find   tidier-up, precisian, schoolmarm,  grammaticaster, word-worrier, prescriptivist, purifier, logic-chopper  (H.W. Fowlers word),  grammatical moralizer  (Otto Jespersens term for H.W. Fowler),  usageaster, usagist, usager,  and  linguistic Emily Post. All of these seem at least faintly pejorative, some more than faintly so. The concern with the improvement, correction, and perfection of the existing language goes back to the 18th century, when the first influential grammars of English were written. There was current at that time a notion that a perfect language existed, at least in theory, and that reformation of the imperfect way existing language was used would lead to that perfection. (Merriam-Websters Dictionary of English Usage, 1994)

Vaccines Are Not The Cause Of Autism - 1925 Words

Vaccines Are Not the Cause of Autism Autism is factually known as a neurological developmental disorder. This disorder affects a child (mostly boys) at an early age or once the child is enrolled in school when it comes to social interactions, ways of communication and behavior. The rise in autism can be attributed to the various ways autism is now diagnosed, a much more attainable reason than vaccinations. Autism has a wide spectrum and specialists may consider a child to be autistic based on different characteristics than their colleague. Autism has no etiology as of yet, although various theories and vaccinations are some of the culprits. The immunization schedule that babies are supposed to follow from birth doesn’t cause autism because the CDC sets the schedule with stringent amounts of research; each vaccine is vigorously tested for the age of the child it is intended for; and vaccines are made of small antigens that do not overload the immune system. Therefore, there is no question if autism and vaccination s are related. The Center for Disease Control is in charge of publishing the immunization schedule and making appropriate changes if need be. Until 1999, thimerosal was used in vaccines and medicines. The thimerosal was used in multi dose vaccines to prevent the growth of germs, bacteria, and fungus in the vial, which would then be transferred into the patient. Since thimerosal contains ethylmercury, it was decided by the American Academy of Pediatrics, to removeShow MoreRelatedVaccines And Autism : Do Vaccines Cause Autism?1231 Words   |  5 PagesPseudoscience? I. Vaccines Autism Do Vaccines cause Autism? II. Abstract Do vaccines cause autism is a question that has been bouncing around for over twenty years. The increase in the number of diagnosed cases of Autism Spectrum Disorder has increased significantly and due to the impact this has in people’s lives several studies have been done in an effort to determine the cause. More specifically the MMR, Measles, Mumps, and Rubella, vaccination has been accused of being the cause of autism. This accusationRead MoreVaccines Are Not the Cause of Autism Essay604 Words   |  3 Pagesunfavorable reactions that may arise. The chief concerns are whether vaccinating causes serious developmental delays such as autism in children. The aim of this composition is to enlighten others that vaccinating children does not bring about autism. By means of scientific exploration along with advanced medical diagnosis in children, researchers currently recognize that the increase in autism claims are not vaccine linked. Koch (2000) affirms that, â€Å"drugmakers and health officials say there isRead MoreDo Vaccines Cause Autism?2029 Words   |  9 PagesEmily Peters Kiera Ball ENGL 101T 6 May 2015 Do Vaccines Cause Autism? Contrary to popular belief, autism is the result of a specific genetic mutation where it makes the person diagnosed have an inability to interact with others. According to Kavin Senapathy, Validating â€Å"the fact that GMOs and vaccines don’t cause autism, scientists have now linked mutations in over a hundred genes to autism in two recent studies published in Nature†¦Ã¢â‚¬  †¦ â€Å"about 30 percent of those found in these studies occurredRead MoreVaccines Are A Major Cause Of Autism2128 Words   |  9 Pageshas existed that vaccines are a major cause of autism. Despite the fact that large amounts of research have been done to disprove this belief, the belief still persists. The research done in this paper were obtained by searching many science databases. These studies consist of experiments and result analysis. The studies included surveys, examination of health databases, and medical examinations. The experiments proved that vaccines do not have a causal re lationship with autism. This is shown byRead MoreDoes Vaccine Cause Autism?928 Words   |  4 PagesWith so much evidence to disprove that vaccines cause autism, why is this still a question in our society? Thanks to the media continuously covering stories about mothers who have children with autism, and celebrities who support the unlink of autism causing vaccines. A reason brought up often when talking with an anti-vaccine person, is that the side effects of vaccines are being covered up by big business. When looking at reasons why a big corporation or the government would do that, there isn’tRead MoreVaccines Cause Autism Essay1360 Words   |  6 Pageswhether vaccines cause autism, however, there is no evidence that Measles, Mumps, Rubella vaccination is associated to autism. Parental age and pregnancy complications have been the most studied risk factors for ASD especially low birth weight and prematurity. Three of five studies have found low birth weight to have a sig nificant association with autism spectrum disorder. Mothers aged 35 years and older and fathers aged 40 to 49 years have also found significant associations with autism. PregnancyRead MoreThe Mmr Vaccine Does Not Cause Autism873 Words   |  4 Pageschildren’s chance of getting autism. Studies have shown following the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine children become diagnosed with autism. Parents are risking bringing back diseases that before vaccinations killed and threatened the lives of many people. The MMR vaccine does not cause autism, because the doctor who published the first study about this theory has since lost his medical license, many more studies have proven the correlation is a myth, and Autism Speaks, an autism advocacy organizationRead MoreThe Mmr Vaccine Did Cause Autism1415 Words   |  6 Pagesand all believed that it was not safe to vaccinate (Silverman, 2013). They were convinced that the MMR vaccine did cause autism. There were many families that we re part of the church that had a history of autism in their family, and did not want to chance it. So instead of asking for a different schedule of vaccines and not bundling the MMR, the families and others opted out of the MMR vaccine entirely (Silverman, 2013). A visitor came to the church, after being in Indonesia, and, unknowingly, wasRead MoreVaccines Do Not Cause Autism Essay3070 Words   |  13 PagesVaccines have been used to prevent diseases for centuries, and have saved countless lives of children and adults. The smallpox vaccine was invented as early as 1796, and since then the use of vaccines has continued to protect us from countless life threatening diseases such as polio, measles, and pertussis. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2010) assures that vaccines are extensively tested by scientist to make sure they are effective and safe, and must receive the approval of theRead MoreIs Vaccines A Cause Of Autism Spectrum Disorder?1179 Words   |  5 PagesM ake â€Å"Ever since the smallpox vaccine in 1798 there has been an argument over the safety, effectiveness and morality of vaccinations† (Immunization Action Timeline). In 2015 we have progressed as far as to find a vaccine for Ebola but the controversy still continues. In Tennessee, residents can refuse vaccines because of a religious reason. Many other states also allow their residents to refuse vaccines for religious and philosophical reasons (National Vaccine Information Center). Because states

Georg Cantor Essay Example For Students

Georg Cantor Essay Georg CantorI. Georg CantorGeorg Cantor founded set theory and introduced the concept of infinite numberswith his discovery of cardinal numbers. He also advanced the study oftrigonometric series and was the first to prove the nondenumerability of thereal numbers. Georg Ferdinand Ludwig Philipp Cantor was born in St. Petersburg,Russia, on March 3, 1845. His family stayed in Russia for eleven years until thefathers sickly health forced them to move to the more acceptable environment ofFrankfurt, Germany, the place where Georg would spend the rest of his life. Georg excelled in mathematics. His father saw this gift and tried to push hisson into the more profitable but less challenging field of engineering. Georgwas not at all happy about this idea but he lacked the courage to stand up tohis father and relented. However, after several years of training, he became sofed up with the idea that he mustered up the courage to beg his father to becomea mathematician. Finally, just before entering college, his father let Georgstudy mathematics. In 1862, Georg Cantor entered the University of Zurich onlyto transfer the next year to the University of Berlin after his fathers death. At Berlin he studied mathematics, philosophy and physics. There he studied undersome of the greatest mathematicians of the day including Kronecker andWeierstrass. After receiving his doctorate in 1867 from Berlin, he was unable tofind good employment and was forced to accept a position as an unpaid lecturerand later as an assistant professor at the University of Halle in1869. In 1874,he married and had six children. It was in that same year of 1874 that Cantorpublished his first paper on the theory of sets. While studying a problem inanalysis, he had dug deeply into its foundations, especially sets and infinitesets. What he found baffled him. In a series of papers from 1874 to 1897, he wasable to prove that the set of integers had an equal number of members as the setof even numbers, squares, cubes, and roots to equations; that the number ofpoints in a line segment is equal to the number of points in an infinite line, aplane and all mathematical space; and that the number of transcen dental numbers,values such as pi(3.14159) and e(2.71828) that can never be the solution to anyalgebraic equation, were much larger than the number of integers. Before inmathematics, infinity had been a sacred subject. Previously, Gauss had statedthat infinity should only be used as a way of speaking and not as a mathematicalvalue. Most mathematicians followed his advice and stayed away. However, Cantorwould not leave it alone. He considered infinite sets not as merely going onforever but as completed entities, that is having an actual though infinitenumber of members. He called these actual infinite numbers transfinite numbers. By considering the infinite sets with a transfinite number of members, Cantorwas able to come up his amazing discoveries. For his work, he was promoted tofull professorship in 1879. However, his new ideas also gained him numerousenemies. Many mathematicians just would not accept his groundbreaking ideas thatshattered their safe world of mathematics. One of these critics was LeopoldKronecker. Kronecker was a firm believer that the only numbers were integers andthat negatives, fractions, imaginaries and especially irrational numbers had nobusiness in mathematics. He simply could not handle actual infinity. Using hisprestige as a professor at the University of Berlin, he did all he could tosuppress Cantors ideas and ruin his life. Among other things, he delayed orsuppressed completely Cantors and his followers publications, belittled hisideas in front of his students and blocked Cantors life ambition of gaining aposition at the prestigious University of Berlin. Not all mathematicians we rehostile to Cantors ideas. Some greats such as Karl Weierstrass, and long-timefriend Richard Dedekind supported his ideas and attacked Kroneckers actions. However, it was not enough. Cantor simply could not handle it. Stuck in a third-rate institution, stripped of well-deserved recognition for his work and underconstant attack by Kronecker, he suffered the first of many nervous breakdownsin 1884. In 1885 Cantor continued to extend his theory of cardinal numbers andof order types. He extended his theory of order types so that now his previouslydefined ordinal numbers became a special case. In 1895 and 1897 Cantor publishedhis final double treatise on sets theory. Cantor proves that if A and B are setswith A equivalent to a subset of B and B equivalent to a subset of A then A andB are equivalent. This theorem was also proved by Felix Bernstein and by Schrder. The rest of his life was spent in and out of mental institutions and hiswork nearly ceased completely. Much too late for him to really enjoy it, histheory finally began to gain recognition by the turn of the century. In 1904, hewas awarded a medal by the Royal Society of London and was made a member of boththe London Mathematical Society and the Society of Sciences in Gottingen. Hedied in a mental institution on January 6, 1918. Today, Cantors work is widelyused in the many fields of mathematics. His theory on infinite sets reset thefoundation of nearly every mathematical field and brought mathematics to itsmodern form. Software Licensing And Piracy EssayThese one-to-one correspondence sets show that even though we add an unknownvariable, multiply by two, and square a set, the upper and lower sets stillremain equal. Since we will never run out of numbers any correspondence set withtwo infinite values will be equal. All these sets clearly have the samecardinality since its members can be put in a one-to-one correspondence witheach other on and on forever. These sets are said to be countably infinite andtheir cardinality is denoted by the Hebrew letter aleph with a subscript nought,. OTHER INFINITIESCantor thought once you start dealing with infinities, everything is the samesize. This did not turn out to be the case. Cantor developed an entire theory oftransfinite arithmetic, the arithmetic of numbers beyond infinity. Although thesizes of the infinite sets of counting numbers, even numbers, odd numbers,square numbers, etc., are the same, there are other sets, the set of numbersthat can be expressed as decimals, for instance, that are larger. Cantors workrevealed that there are hierarchies of ever-larger infinities. The largest oneis called the Continuum. Some mathematicians who lived at the end of the 19thcentury did not want to accept his work at all. The fact that his results wereso paradoxical was not the problem so much as the fact that he consideredinfinite sets at all. At that time, some mathematicians held that mathematicscould only consider objects that could be constructed directly from the countingnumbers. You cant list all the elements in an infinite set, they said, soanything that you say about infinite sets is not mathematics. The most powerfulof these mathematicians was Leopold Kronecker who even developed a theory ofnumbers that did not include any negative numbers. Although Kronecker did notpersuade very many of his contemporaries to abandon all conclusions that reliedon the existence of negative numbers, Cantors work was so revolutionary thatKroneckers argument that it went too far seemed plausible. Kronecker was amember of the editorial boards of the important mathematical journals of his day,and he used his influence to prevent much of Cantors work from being publishedin his lifetime. Cantor did not know at the time of his death, that not onlywould his ideas prevail, but that they would shape the course of 20th centurymathematics. Science

Where The Heart Is Essays - Films, Where The Heart Is,

Where The Heart Is Novalee is unlucky. She's seven months pregnant, homeless and headed to California for an unknown reason. Her dreams of houses, family and love seem far away. Willy Jack wants money. He craves boozes, sex and freedom. He finds himself jobless, with a pregnant girlfriend, and a beat up Plymouth destined for California. In the Billie Letts novel, Where the heart is the American dream involves family, friends, and material goods. Both Novalee and Willy Jack are in search of their dreams, the success of which relies on the decision they make along the way. Family is an important part of Novalee's dream. Novalee's childhood was filled with sadness. Her mother deserted her when she was young and thereafter, she bounced between foster homes until she met Willy Jack. In Willy Jack, Novalee believes she finds love. To her disappointment she does not. However, she finds happiness the baby that they made. Her baby becomes center of strength and her good fortune. She ran her fingers across her navel and thought of the baby attached to the other side of it, imagining it could feel her touch so that it might even reach out to her. Page 53. Americus brings Novalee, the love and family she wants. Willy Jack sees family as an obstacle to pass in achieving his dream. He has a narrow view of his life. He desperately wants money and believes nothing else matters but it. Willy does not realize that he needs the love of others to help him through life. Willy passes up the option of family early on his quest for his dream. He deserts his pregnant girlfriend in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart. Leaving her with only $7.77 and the clothes she is wearing. She could see herself running, calling his name- the parking space was empty, the Plymouth gone. He was going to California and had left her behind? Page 16. Willy's desire for money compels him to ditch his family. Novalee cherishes the help and support friends provide during her pursuit of the American Dream. Through the help and guidance of her friends she is able to excel all aspects of her life. From Moses, a strong, black photographer she is explores her creative flare. She gains respect from her community by winning the Greater Southwestern Kodak photography contest. ?She was named Employee of the Week at Wal-Mart, the First National Bank sent a card of congratulations, and the art teacher at the high school asked her to come to his classes to speak.? Page 216. Novalee takes picture of her friends who helped her towards her dream, so she never forgets them. Willy Jack uses his friends as tools, to achieve his dream. When Willy Jack is thrown in prison, his moneymaking ideas change. He decides he wants to become a country music star. With the help of the prison librarian he obtains a guitar, and performing experience. Shortly after his release from prison he meets Ruth Meyers. Ruth is a talent agent who sets Willy Jack on the path to stardom. However, Willy Jack's greed over-powers his judgement. Behind Ruth's back Willy Jack tries to bargain a deal with Johnny Desoto, a big time talent agent. Then I'll get right to the point.? Willy Jack leaned closer to the table, his tone confidential. ?I think Ruth Meyers has gone about as far with me as she can? She can't make me rich. Page 256. Willy Jack soon learns that Ruth Meyers should not be toyed with. She learns of Willy Jack unfaithful ways, cancels his contract and proclaims he'll never work in show business again. In search of material goods, Novalee dreams of a house for her family. Novalee does not wish for large mansions, extravagant cars or designer clothes. All she wants is house to keep her child safe and warm. Novalee dreamed of houses-two-story houses, log cabins, condominiums, ranch houses-anything fixed to the ground. She had never lived in a place that didn't have wheels under it. Page 7. Novalee receives her house as a gift from her friend Sister Husband. Willy Jack pursues enormous wealth at the sacrifice of his health. His first moneymaking scheme had him