Bad language : are some words better than others?

Is today's language at an all-time low? Edwin Battistella argues that it is wrong to think of slang, regional dialects and nonstandard grammar as simply breaking the rules of good English. Reexamining debates over relativism in language, Battistella argues that we should view language as made up of alternative forms of regularity and orderliness, which require informed engagement with usage.

Preface Bad Language: Realism versus Relativism Anything Goes A Culture of Engagement Bad Writing The Craft of Writing Clear and Direct The Relativity of Style What is Good Writing? Bad Grammar Prescriptive Grammar The Emergence of Prescriptivism The Doctrines of Usage and Utility The English Language Arts and Beyond Conservatives and Progressives The Necessity for Grammar Bad Words Cursing in the Media and the Arts Offensive Language Bad Words as a Social Construction Slang as Bad Language Political Correctness Conventionalism and Comfort Levels Bad Citizens Birth of a Nation Native American Languages Manualism versus Oralism Restrictions on Foreign Languages Bilingual Education English Only One Flag, One Language Bad Accents Broken English Attitudes Toward Regional Dialects Ebonics Accomodating to the Idealized Mainstream Images and Engagement Imagining Language English Made Hard Beyond Simplistic Characterizations Notes Reference Index