Date:  Tue, 5 Mar 1996 11:14:24 +0000

From:  Charlotte Thomas <EGP95CMT[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]SHEFFIELD.AC.UK>

Subject: Re: Survey of e-usage



In my opinion the setting of standards for terms used with

regard to the web is intrinsically dogmatic and prescriptivist.

Surely this is the kind of thing that we, as Linguists are

essentially motivated to reject. What gives anyone the right to

decide to set down a list of standards, and although Rick says that

the purpose of this project is not to do such a thing, then what is

its purpose? By giving people the chance to input their opinions,

they are giving the impression that it is democratic, yet how many

people are going to be given a chance to do this? It will only be

the curent web-users- the middle class academics/business people-

which rings familiarly with the setting of standards of English

grammar some time ago.



And why shouldn't there be several ways of saying the same thing.

This is one of the beauties of language, especially English, that it

is rich in variety, lending itself to the opportunity for sublety of

meaning. I already use different notations in different contexts, for

example "web" in a more colloquial sense(especially in speech or

email), but "WWW"

in more formal written documents, as I feel its abbreviated form is

of a register more common in academic writing than the clipped "web" form.

This is my personal opinion, but I do not expect anyone else to agree

or adopt the same usage. At the moment I am given the chance to make

my own choices, and I would like it to stay this way, without

someone telling me that what I choose to use is "wrong".



I say, cling on to the last straws of unprescribed variety while they

are there, otherwise, in maybe 10 years time, we won't have any say

at all, and "webarians" will be dictating what is the standard way to

spell" email", according to the rules inadvertantly set by

ourselves today.

Charlotte



##########################################################

Charlotte Thomas EGP95CMT[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]Sheffield.ac.uk

CECTAL

Dept. of English Language and Linguistics

University of Sheffield

Sheffield

S10 2TN

UK



"Why does anyone believe he ought to speak better than he

can, and so in the end speak far worse than he might?"

(P.Wright, 1974)