Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language

Doyoucringewhenatalkingheadpronounces“niche”asNITCH?Doyougetbentoutofshapewhenyourteenagerbeginsasentencewith“and”?DoyouthinkBritishspellingsaremore“civilised”thantheAmericanversions?Ifyouansweredyestoanyofthosequestions,you’remyth-informed.InOriginsoftheSpecious,wordmavensPatriciaT.O’ConnerandStewartKellermanrevealwhysomeofgrammar’sbest-known“rules”aren’t—andneverwere—rulesatall.Thisplayfullywitty,rigorouslyresearchedbooksetstherecordstraightaboutboguswordorigins,politicallycorrectfictions,phonyfrançais,fakeacronyms,andmore.Herearesomeshockers:“They”wasoncecommonlyusedforbothsingularandplural,muchtheway“you”istoday.Andaneighteenth-centuryfemalegrammarian,ofallpeople,islargelyresponsiblefortheall-purpose“he.”FromtheQueen’sEnglishtostreetslang,thiseye-openingrompwillbethetoastofgrammarphilesandthesalvationofgrammarphobes.Takeourwordforit.