Verbal Hygiene

Deborah Cameron is Professor of Language and Communication in the English Faculty of Oxford University. A sociolinguist and discourse analyst, she is the author of Good to Talk? (2000), On Language and Sexual Politics (2006) and The Myth of Mars and Venus (2007).

• Preface. Foreword. 1. On Verbal Hygiene.2. Restrictive Practices: the Politics of Style. 3. Dr Syntax and Mrs Grundy: The Great Grammar Crusade 4. Civility and its Discontents: Language and "Political Correctness". 5. The New Pygmalion: Verbal Hygiene for Women. 6. On the State of the State of the Language. Afterword. Notes.

‘Professor Cameron’s book is a deeply-absorbing, brilliantly-written discussion of linguistically-manifested social attitudes.’Barbara Allen, University of Brighton, UK‘Written clearly, and in a very accessible style – beneath the ease with which you can read the book, there are substantial issues that provide interesting challenges to linguists and teachers of linguistics.’Miriam Meyerhoff, University of Auckland, New Zealand ‘The book deserves to be classed as a 'classic'. First and foremost, it defined and established the concept/term of 'verbal hygiene', which is widely used to this day in a variety of sociolinguistic contexts. Secondly, it continues to provoke and inspire some fifteen years after its publication - which is what a classic ought to do.’Stavroula Varella, University of Chichester, UK