Bad Language: Are Some Words Better than Others?

Abstract

Many individuals have experienced situations in which the way they spoke or wrote may have been subject to varying degrees of correction, scorn, disdain, or even ridicule. The exploration of what makes language “bad” – that is, deviant in the eyes of some - is Battistella’s main focus in Bad Language: Are Some Words Better than Others?, as he engages in a closely reasoned discussion about how some forms of language varieties have come to be characterized as ethnic, provincial, convoluted, or immoral. Battistella calls for a more relative and descriptive way of viewing so-called deviant language. Additionally, the author endeavors to alter language attitudes, calling instead for a culture of engagement with such varieties rather than, as he puts it, a standoff between traditionalism versus nihilism.