Sharp PW-E500A operation manual Usage Notes, Standard English

Page 43

Usage Notes (&)

Interest in questions of good usage is widespread among English speakers everywhere, and many issues are hotly debated. In the Oxford Dictionary of English, traditional issues have been reappraised, and guidance is given on various points, old and new. The aim is to help people to use the language more accurately, more clearly, and more elegantly, and to give information and offer reassurance in the face of some of the more baffling assertions about ‘correctness’ that are sometimes made.

This reappraisal has involved looking carefully at evidence of actual usage (in the Oxford English Corpus, the citations collected by the Oxford Reading Programme, and other sources) in order to find out where mistakes are actually being made, and where confusion and ambiguity actually arise. The issues on which journalists and others tend to comment have been reassessed and a judgement made about whether their comments are justified.

From the 15th century onwards, traditionalists have been objecting to particular senses of certain English words and phrases, for example ‘aggravate’, ‘due to’, and ‘hopefully’. Certain grammatical structures, too, have been singled out for adverse comment, notably the split infinitive and the use of a preposition at the end of a clause. Some of these objections are founded on very dubious arguments, for example the notion that English grammatical structures should precisely parallel those of Latin or that meaning change of any kind is inherently suspect. For examples of notes on such issues, see preposition, due and aggravate.

The usage notes in the Oxford Dictionary of English take the view that English is English, not Latin, and that English is, like all languages, subject to change. Good usage is usage that gets the writer's message across, not usage that conforms to some arbitrary rules that fly in the face of historical fact or current evidence. The editors of the Oxford Dictionary of English are well aware that the prescriptions of pundits in the past have had remarkably little practical effect on the way the language is actually used. A good dictionary reports the language as it is, not as the editors (or anyone else) would wish it to be, and the usage notes must give guidance that accords with observed facts about present-day usage.

This is not to imply that the issues are straightforward or that there are simple solutions, however. Much of the debate about use of language is highly political and controversy is, occasionally, inevitable. Changing social attitudes have stigmatized long-established uses such as the word ‘man’ to denote the human race in general, for example, and have highlighted the absence of a gender-neutral singular pronoun meaning both ‘he’ and ‘she’ (for which purpose ‘they’ is increasingly being used). Similarly, words such as ‘race’ and ‘native’ are now associated with particular problems of sensitivity in use, and the ways that disability is referred to have come under close examination. The usage notes in the Oxford Dictionary of English offer information and practical advice on such issues. For examples, see man, native and disabled.

Standard English

Unless otherwise stated, the words and senses recorded in this dictionary are all part of standard English; that is, they are in normal use in both speech and writing everywhere in the world, at many different levels of formality, ranging from official documents to casual conversation. Some words, however, are appropriate only in particular contexts, and these are labelled accordingly. The technical term for a particular level of use in language is register.

The Oxford Dictionary of English uses the following register labels:

formal: normally used only in writing, in contexts such as official documents.

informal: normally used only in contexts such as conversations or letters among friends.

dated: no longer used by the majority of English speakers, but still encountered occasionally, especially among the older generation.

archaic: very old-fashioned language, not in ordinary use at all today, but sometimes used to give a deliberately old-fashioned effect or found in works of the past that are still widely read.

historical: still used today, but only to refer to some practice or artefact that is no longer part of the modern world, e.g. baldric and almoner.

literary: found only or mainly in literature written in an ‘elevated' style.

42

Page 42 Page 44
Image 43
Page 42 Page 44
Contents PW-E500A Introduction Contents Getting Started Using the PW-E500A for the first timeBacklight Turning the power on/offAuto power off function To attach a commercially available strapData contained in the PW-E500A Layout Key assignments Display symbolsOperation guidance message Inputting words for a dictionary search Basic operationSelecting a dictionary / function in the main menu Filter search view selecting an item scrolling List view selecting an item scrollingShifting the displayed character size z Detail view scrollingRecalling the terms previously searched h Searching a word on the screen Listing a summary of detail view items qBrowsing Notes r Set-up menu Setting the key sound on/offInputting characters Setting the Auto power off activation timeAdjusting the LCD contrast Starting Auto Demo mode4WD Modifying entryBrowsing Notes Using the Oxford Dictionary of EnglishLooking up a word Filter search If there is no match foundSpellcheck function Phrase searchIf the list of words does not appear as expected Further informationUsing the Oxford Thesaurus of English Press tto open the Oxford Thesaurus of English Searching by an author name Filter search Using the Oxford Dictionary of QuotationsPress uto open the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations Keyword searchScreen of the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations Random quoteCrossword solver Using the Solver functionsPuzzle solver Entering characters Anagram solverHow to use the Super jump function Using the Super jump functionAbout the detail view after the jump Specifying a Dictionary to jump toDeleting the history list of a Dictionary Using the History functionHow to use the History function Deleting a history itemCalculation examples Prior to initiating calculationsExample Operation Display Currency converter Setting a currency rateConverting currencies Units capable of being converted Metric converterAppendices Replacing the batterySpecifications Reset procedure if trouble occursReset procedures Product support TroubleshootingNose Oxford Dictionary of EnglishIntroduction Structure Core Sense and SubsenseSpecialized case of the core sense, e.g Encyclopedic Material Specialist VocabularyTerms relating to nouns Grammar Terms relating to verbs Other terms relating to nouns Terms relating to adjectives Oxford Reading Programme Evidence and Illustrative ExamplesTerms relating to adverbs Oxford English CorpusSpecialist reading Word HistoriesExamples Standard English Usage NotesWorld English Hyphenation SpellingVariant spellings Ise or ize?Verbs InflectionNouns Adjectives PronunciationsConsonants Foreign pronunciationsSelection of entries Oxford Thesaurus of EnglishSynonyms HomonymsIllustrative examples Idiomatic phrases and phrasal verbs Linguistic evidenceRegister standard vs. informal and regional English Word links OppositesConfusables ‘Choose the Right Word’ notesWord lists Introduction abridged Oxford Dictionary of QuotationsPage How to use the Dictionary Page Keyword Search Europe Sharp Corporation
Top Page Image Contents