Publishers Weekly
★ 01/22/2024
In this spirited treatise, Curzan (Fixing English), an English professor at the University of Michigan, argues that readers should embrace the flexibility of language. “Debates about language are almost always about more than language,” she writes, reflecting on how power and authority affect what’s considered proper usage. Curzan explains that standardized English isn’t inherently more correct than other forms (hisself, she explains, actually follows the grammatical pattern established by myself, yourself, and herself more closely than himself does), it’s just the iteration chosen by “speakers with social, political, and economic power” to be the one against which others are judged. Readers should accept the evolving meaning of such contested phrases as “more unique,” Curzan contends, positing that though the phrase dilutes the literal definition of unique, such shifts in meaning are common and unavoidable (the definition of decimate was initially “kill one in every ten”). Instead of striving to evaluate whether usage is “correct,” Curzan encourages considering whether a “word is working effectively in context.” For instance, she suggests that as literally becomes increasingly understood to also mean figuratively, readers should be careful to “avoid unnecessary ambiguity” in formal writing while recognizing that its conversational use as an intensifier usually does little to impede understanding. Chock-full of fascinating trivia and persuasively argued, this will give grammar sticklers pause. Agent: Gail Ross, Ross Yoon Agency. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
Anne Curzan’s Says Who? is a thoughtful, charming tour of English as it is spoken, English as it is written, and English as it is fussed over and fought about. I was bowled over, page after page, by the author’s fine ear for our language and her openhearted erudition. I learned a lot, and I couldn’t have enjoyed myself more.”—Benjamin Dreyer, New York Times bestselling author of Dreyer’s English
“Says Who? is truly a ‘kinder, funner’ grammar book, a refreshing and forgiving take on rules and convention, while also being an entertaining read.”—Abraham Verghese, author of The Covenant of Water
“Readers will be sighing in relief, because this kind, informative book quashes the grammar rumors that block the way to communication and art.”—Ellen Jovin, author of the national bestseller Rebel with a Clause
“Anne Curzan has accomplished the feat of addressing every possible language peeve anyone ever has, each one in tasty chapters not too short and not too long. No one could follow it: it's a mic-drop.”—John McWhorter, New York Times bestselling author of Nine Nasty Words
“Logophiles and the linguistically trepidatious alike will appreciate Curzan’s deep dives into the history of knotty constructions, as well as the commonsense and compassionate advice about navigating it all without shame—or without shaming others. Would that we all had a grammar teacher as approachable, knowledgeable, and excited by English as Anne Curzan.”—Kory Stamper, author of Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries
“A delightful exploration of the quirks and controversies in the English language . . . Whether you embrace your inner ‘grammando’ or inner ‘wordie,’ Says Who? is sure to satisfy anyone curious about language’s ever-shifting landscape.”—Ben Zimmer, language columnist for The Wall Street Journal
“As a guide through the labyrinth of language, Curzan provides a road map that makes for an enjoyable, informative journey.”—Kirkus Review (starred review)
“Spirited . . . Chock-full of fascinating trivia and persuasively argued, this will give grammar sticklers pause.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Curzan lays forth her incomparable erudition with deft lightheartedness that will appeal to wordies at all levels.”—Booklist (starred review)
Library Journal
★ 02/01/2024
This cheerful usage guide for the English language stresses context, style, consistency, and kindness over supposedly immutable rules. Making grammatical decisions is effectively presented as an inner conflict that pits a writer or speaker's personal "grammando" (grammar stickler) against their "wordie" (appreciator of linguistic flexibility and creativity). Curzan (English and linguistics, Univ. of Michigan; Fixing English) explores many points of grammatical confusion that give rise to such conflicts between grammando and wordie. She uses broad categories to first identify common grammatical conundrums such as punctuation, verb forms, word order, and pronouns. Within each category, she then examines specific examples in greater detail, such as when and how to use double negatives, why "funnest" could be a word, and why the passive voice is sometimes useful. Curzan humanizes her own grammatical decisions with stories from her life as a linguist. She also invokes the Usage Panel of the American Heritage Dictionary, which until 2018 voted annually on preferred usage, as a barometer of changes over time. VERDICT Highly recommended for all writers and speakers of English who want to understand why the language works the way it does.—Karen Bordonaro
MAY 2024 - AudioFile
Anne Curzan's knowledgeable, engaging, and laugh-out-loud funny reflection on grammar usage is for all of us who cringe when a friend comments on seeing "less trees" in the park instead of "fewer trees," and winces when a daughter says "for my sister and I" instead of "and me." Narrating with contagious enthusiasm and attentive pacing, the author, an English professor and linguist at the University of Michigan, understands that "very unique" pains our inner grammando. Yet she urges us to be fascinated by the evolution of language. It turns out that "they" hasn't always been a plural pronoun. Used to capturing students' attention, Curzan's attractive voice and upbeat delivery work the same magic here. Prepare to be educated and charmed in equal measure. A.C.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2023-11-17
A leading specialist in communication romps through the debates around the proper, improper, and colorful use of language.
Curzan, a professor of English language, literature, linguistics, and education, knows enough about the rules of language to make fun of them when appropriate (look no further than the word funner in the subtitle). She acknowledges that she, like many other people concerned with language, is constantly fighting a psychological battle. One side is the “grammando,” who wants to correct the technical mistakes of others; the other is the “wordie,” delighting in the ever evolving landscape of language. With this in mind, the author happily dives into a host of current issues, including the conversion of nouns to verbs, double negatives, gender-neutral titles, the difference between less and fewer, and when to take literally literally. Many of these issues are the subject of heated discussion within the lexicographic community, but that’s nothing compared to the arguments over commas, colons and semicolons, and—Curzan’s personal favorite—dashes. Linguistically speaking, it’s a jungle out there. Along the way, the author looks at the best ways to use conjunctions to start a sentence and prepositions to end them, as well as the changing status of apostrophes. With interesting anecdotes and examples, she largely comes down on the “wordie” side, noting that strict adherence to the rules of grammar can often end in a clumsy mess. Better, she advises, to look for clear and fair-minded communication, with writing that is stylistically pleasing and honest. “And there are lots of ways to use language effectively, far beyond what we may have learned as ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ in school,” she writes. It’s a suitable conclusion to a book that is, in a word, fun.
As a guide through the labyrinth of language, Curzan provides a road map that makes for an enjoyable, informative journey.