Contemporary English: Change and Variation

A critical review. The selection and distribution is analyzed of the 25 essays divided into three major sections. Part I of the book focuses on the nature of linguistic variation and includes a well-chosen selection of essays dealing with the nature of language change. Part II deals with a definition of "standard" English. Although the essays selected for that section represent some of the best thinking currently available about the nature of standard English, it would have been improved by the addition of some voices from the loyal opposition. The weakest section of the book, Part III, deals with learning and teaching problems. Perhaps this is because the issues involved in teaching are so much more complex and nebulous than the essentially factual material which makes up the rest of the book. This section suffers from the lack of inclusion of material by those most directly connected with the teaching problem: teachers, parents, and administrators. Nevertheless, the work succeeds in its overall purposes, and it should prove extremely useful in both language classes and methods courses.