Language in Change: Academics' and Executives' Perceptions of Usage Errors

Abstract

A research study gauged the distraction potential of 45 written usage elements, traditionally considered errors, for systematic random samples of two different educatedreading audiences: post-secondary business communication teachers and executive vicepresidents in very large firms. Findings showed that the usage errors least distracting to both audiences were lexicalelements such as use of "disinterested" for "uninterested," the verb "prioritize," and"data" as a singular, as well as the use of an adverbial phrase to complete a linkingverb. The most distracting errors were primarily sentence-structure errors such as runons, fragments, danglers, and faulty parallel structure. The findings are useful in two ways: They describe the reactions of educated users tolanguage elements that may be in process of change; and they offer instructors more information to use as a basis for emphasizing or de-emphasizing certain usage elementsin an already crowded communication course.

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