Fowler and Burchfield

The more I read The English Language by Burchfield, the more I see the gulf in thinking between what they perceive to be the way forward for the language.
I do not have Fowler's English Usage to compare the original (or 2nd Ed.) with Burchfield's edited 3rd Edition, but from my reading, it seems that there has been a complete ideological shift away from prescriptivism towards descriptivism.

At this point I'm unsure how I sit myself. I understand that language evolves and that it could be futile to attempt to alter in some way this natural process, but on the other hand there does seem to be some necessary firm logical 'rules' that should not be violated: word order for instance.

I think the OED has benefited in its supplements from the Burchfield experience nevertheless and included many words that purists would not have included.

I'm a descriptivist from way back. Basically, native speakers are unable to violate the "rules" of their language because it sounds wrong when they do. This, of course, doesn't mean that different dialects don't have different rules that sound funny to people from another dialect. I think a mild form of prescriptivism to agree on majority usage and set up a system for transmitting this to people who don't come from the standard dialect is warranted, as long as it's clear that the standard isn't any more right than the dialect, just an artificially imposed standard to keep everyone on the same page. (Like using a foot ruler rather than your own foot to measure things when you're going to be talking to someone else about the measurements.)

For a good descriptive rather than prescriptive usage manual, I recommend Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage. To learn more about our intrinsic grammar I recommend John McWhorter's Teaching Company course The Story of Human Language.

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Thanks for the recommendations.
Aulsmith, have you at any point, compared and contrasted Burchfield's revised 'Fowler's Usage' with the earlier editions?

The Merriam Webster cites both on usage questions, but I've never really looked into it systematically. I only have Gowers' revision of Fowler, not the Burchfield.

> The second edition. there is a pretty decent offer in amazon at the moment for a new hardback edition of the 1st Edition, which I have just ordered.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dictionary-Modern-English-Usage-Classics/dp/0199535345/r...

The third edition edited by Burchfield is also cracking value

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fowlers-Modern-English-Usage-Re-Revised/dp/0198610211/re...