Verbal HygieneDeborah Cameron

In Verbal Hygiene, Deborah Cameron offers a serious examination of popular attitudes toward language and the various ways people attempt to regulate its use. Rather than dismissing “verbal hygiene” as misguided or harmful, she argues that public debates about language what is considered correct, appropriate, or valuable play an important and meaningful role for those who participate in them.

Through a series of case studies, the book explores concrete examples of verbal regulation, including editorial control over writing style, the teaching of grammar in schools, campaigns for and against so-called politically correct language, and advice aimed at helping women speak more effectively.

This Routledge Linguistics Classic edition features a new foreword addressing how the issues in the original case studies have evolved, along with a new afterword discussing more recent concerns from workplace language policies to linguistic anxieties surrounding immigration and terrorism.

Aimed at linguists, professional language users, and anyone interested in language and culture, Verbal Hygiene advocates for open, critical, and informed discussion of society’s legitimate concerns about language and values by both experts and the general public.