| FT-53274-05 | Research Programs: Summer Stipends | Edwin L. Battistella | Sherwin Cody and the American Language in the Early 20th Century | 7/1/2006 - 8/31/2006 | $5,000.00 | Edwin | L. | Battistella | | | | Southern Oregon University | Ashland | OR | 97520-5001 | USA | 2005 | Linguistics | Summer Stipends | Research Programs | 5000 | 0 | 5000 | 0 |
This proposal requests support to research a book titled SHERWIN CODY AND THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE. The book will examine a famous early 20th century correspondence grammar course and the entrepreneur behind it. Sherwin Cody's advertisement asking "Do you make these mistakes in English?" ran continuously for 40 years at a time when many Americans were focused on self-improvement and workplace skills. In telling the story of Cody's 100% Self-Correcting English Course, my project investigates attitudes toward language and the mass marketing of cultural self-improvement. It examines as well the evolution of spoken language style and the connection between language choice, cultural propriety and economic advancement. |