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To Boldly Split Infinitives

This is somewhat a manifesto. English is not Latin. We can put prepositions at the end of a sentence if we want to. And we can start sentences with a conjunction! If we want to boldly split infinitives, then we're perfectly welcome to do so. Why? Because these are all syntactically correct constructs in English; they parse. And even more, they convey meaning to other speakers of the language, which is the real test of whether something is permitted in a language.

My seventh grade English teacher, Mrs. Doane, a throwback to the 19th century prescriptivist grammarians, would no doubt sniff disapprovingly and peer with narrowed eyes over her Far Side-style glasses at such goings on. However, now I have the M.A. in Linguistics and can scowl back with gravitas. And so I will echo those marvelous Churchillian words: "This is the type of arrant pedantry up with which I will not put."

But in the end, I must confess that it was Guy Deutscher who freed me from the pointless tyranny of that dead language. I highly recommend his book, The Unfolding of Language, to all who are interested in the phenomenon of Language Change. Also, I happily confer this wonderful ammunition to everyone who is sick of sentences made awkward by silly rules that don't apply to our language.

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Eileen said…
Here, here! Or is it, Hear! Hear!
October 13, 2012 at 3:07 PM
Unknown said…
I am always struck by how many different phrases can be treated as noun phrases in English.

Going to the cinema has always delighted me.
To go to the cinema is always thrilling.
Cinema going is a constant delight.
My visits to the cinema have enchanted me.
To the cinema is where he has gone.
Cinema visits are always thrilling.
Having been to the cinema made us hungry.
His going to the cinema has wasted a lot of time.
His having gone to the cinema is where the evidence becomes troubling.
To the cinema is where I really want to go.
December 16, 2013 at 4:39 AM
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