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David Foster Wallace's Essay Authority And American Usage

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David Foster Wallace’s essay “Authority and American Usage” is a book review on Bryan A. Garners “A dictionary of Modern American usage”. Wallace begins his review by stating that he believes Garners dictionary to be very good, however the only way for him to explain the magnitude of why Garners dictionary is good is to delve into the underlying strife involved in the politics of lexicography. He explains that there are “Usage Wars” which are silent wars fought in the introductory pages of dictionaries. Wallace states that these “Usage Wars” are debates over the use of the English language and continues to explain the two linguistic parties that are at bay: The Prescriptivists and Descriptivists. According to David Foster Wallace, the best

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