Cover not available

Article published In: Australian Review of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 25:1 (2002) ► pp.109–129

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
authorization required

Attitudes towards disputable usages among Australian teachers and students

 | Hong Kong Baptist University
Published online: 1 January 2002
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.25.1.06lee
Abstract
Some previous studies (eg Watson, 1978; Collins, 1979) have found that while Australian teachers are sensitive to traditional prescriptions such as the use of whom rather than who in object function, and between you and me rather than between you and I, Australian students accept language variation more readily. This paper aims to examine whether Australian teachers nowadays still display more conservative attitudes towards disputable usages than their students. Data were collected via several elicitation tests. In the first survey, 34 Australian English teachers and 54 Australian high school students were invited to participate in a judgement test. In the second survey, 73 Australian teachers and 207 Australian students were presented with a slot-filling test and a proofreading test. The findings showed considerable differences between teachers and students towards disputable usages. Australian teachers had a higher tendency to reject and replace items such as different than, these sort and dangling participles. This suggests that tolerance diminishes with involvement in teaching.
References (29)
References
Billing, M. (1994). New syllabus English. Sydney: Braxus Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Blaxell, G. & Winch, G. (1995). The English language: users guide. Albert Park, Victoria: Phoenix Education.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Collins, P. (1979). Elicitation experiments on acceptability in Australian English. Working Papers (Macquarie University Speech and Language Research Centre), 2 (4), 1–49.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1989). Divided and debatable usage in Australian English. In P. Collins & D. Blair (Eds) Australian English: the language of a new society. St. Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Crystal, D. (1984). Who cares about English usage. London: Penguin Books.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Curme, G. O. (1931). Syntax. Boston: D. C. Heath.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Down, E. (1991) Mastering grammar. Melbourne, Longman Cheshire.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Eagleson, R. (1972). Aspects of Australian English usage. AULLA (Australasian Universities Language and Literature Association) Proceedings, 141, 204–216.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1976). Anyone for his. Working Papers in Language and Linguistics, 41, 31–45.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Evans, B. & Evans, C. (1957). A dictionary of contemporary American usage. New York: Random House.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fowler, H. W. & Fowler, F.G. (1931). The King’s English (1st ed., 1906). Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fox, M. & Wilkinson, L. (1993). English essentials. South Melbourne: Macmillan.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Howard, P. (1989). Perfect your grammar. Melbourne: Longman.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hughes, B. (1993). The Penguin working words: an Australian guide to modern English usage. Ringwood, Victoria: Viking.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Macquarie Dictionary (1997) (1st ed., 1981; 2nd ed., 1991). NSW: The Macquarie Library.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Metcalfe, J. E. (1975). The right way to improve your English. Kingswood: Elliot Right Way Books.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mittins, W. H., Salu, M., Edminson, M. & Coyne, S. (1970). Attitudes to English usage. London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Murray-Smith, S. (1990). Right words: a guide to English usage in Australia. Ringwood, Victoria: Penguin Books.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Partridge, E. (1965). Usage and abusage. London: Hamish Hamilton.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Peters, P. (1995a). Australian Style: a National Bulled, 3 (2), 4.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1995b). The Cambridge Australian English style guide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1996). In search of Australian style. English Today, 451, 3–10. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2000). Corpus evidence on Australian style and usage. In D. Blair & P. Collins (Eds) English in Australia. Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G. & Svartvik, J. (1985) A comprehensive grammar of the English language. London,: Longman.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Treble, H. A. & Vallins, G.H. (1936). An ABC of English usage. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Walshe, R. D. (1972). Guide to usage and style. In G. W. Turner (Ed) Good Australian English and good New Zealand English. Sydney: Reed Education.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Watson, K. (1978). Teachers’ attitudes to usage. Applied Linguistics Association of Australia Occasional Papers (21), 32–40.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage (1989). Merriam: Webster.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wheeler, P. M. (1991). Mastery of English for senior students. Melbourne: Longman.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (2)

Cited by two other publications

Severin, Alyssa A.
2017. Vigilance or Tolerance? Younger Speakers’ Attitudes to Australian English Usage. Australian Journal of Linguistics 37:2 ► pp. 156 ff. DOI logo
Lee, Jackie F. K. & Peter Collins
2006. Linguistic Acceptability in Hong Kong English. Asian Englishes 9:1 ► pp. 24 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 14 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue