Lingua Franca Goes With the Flow

With all the writing done on the way to a graduate degree at Prescott College, many students become intrigued by the rules of written English and how they got that way. Professional organizations such as the American Psychological Association or the Modern Language Association are the self-appointed gurus for published writing in their respective areas. In each edition of their style manuals, they present the accepted conventions and linguistic biases of the moment as agreed upon by committee. 

Yet as writing technology, academic values, English usage, and reading practice change, so do the style manuals. They have to. These dense tomes are but scattered boulders in the river of discourse in and on writing in English. Their static pronouncements do not convey how the norms of one dialect daily tumble into the innovations of another in a continual flow of debate over what is correct and what is gaining or losing prestige among readers as we speak.

To read the considered opinions on written English of a small group of practicing linguists and editors, we recommend Lingua Franca, a blog hosted by The Chronicle of Higher Education. Because it is tied to the free online version of The Chronicle, Lingua Franca has a distinctly academic focus, even when the topic is British sportscaster speech. 

The blend of accessible linguistic analysis with practical writing advice makes it ideal for graduate students taking a break from bouts of thesis-writing. The blog format allows you to comment on posts or ask questions of other readers about current usage and evolving conventions. The posts are short, often humorous, and full of appreciation for the attention to detail required of serious writers. “The Top 10 Edits to Academic Book Manuscripts” is a recent post that offers expert tips from a professional book editor to anyone preparing a thesis or dissertation.

Reading Lingua Franca on a regular basis helps you keep in mind the fluid nature of our linguistic conventions. As a graduate student, you have to settle on a fixed set of rules for what you write today, but those rules are not cast in stone for the sole purpose of blocking your journey to graduation.