Date:  Wed, 14 Feb 1996 03:25:04 -0500

From:  "M. Lynne Murphy" <104LYN[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MUSE.ARTS.WITS.AC.ZA>

Subject: Re: More on warp speed



> Using Dale's post as a starting point, I'd like to ask the question--why

> are split infinitives bad things? As a journalism major in my undergrad

> days, the rule was always cited (particularly by my News Editing

> professor) for us students, but never explained, "Because that's the way

> it is. Why do you want to know?"



my understanding is that they're proscribed b/c english

(prescriptive) grammar teaching was (historically) based on the

premise that latin was a perfect and logical language. because you

can't do it in latin (so goes the logic), you shouldn't do it in

english. i think there are other prescriptive rules with the same

source.



lynne



---------------------------------------------------------------------

M. Lynne Murphy              104lyn[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]muse.arts.wits.ac.za

Department of Linguistics            phone: 27(11)716-2340

University of the Witwatersrand          fax: 27(11)716-8030

Johannesburg 2050

SOUTH AFRICA