At the end of April a new blog on language hove into view.
Anthimeria Rampant, by freelance editor and fellow Marylander Dan Layman-Kennedy, devoted to "the English language, language change, language history, linguistic curiosities, writing, words, meaning, semantics, connotation, the editorial life, and related topics. Its viewpoint is cheerfully descriptivist while celebrating beauty, cleverness, elegance, and wit – in any register, and any dialect."
The first number treats of anthimeria, the technical term for switching a word to a different part of speech, which Mr. Layman-Kennedy celebrates as "part of the play of language change that makes English vital and alive."
Subsequently he took aim at Strunk and White, whose popularity he attributes to its being "short and easily digested" and because "lists of things-not-to-do always make tempting shortcuts to real skill."
He has looked into what the craft requires beyond grammar and usage and the mechanics of style guides: "Editing isn't just asking if all the words are spelled right and the subject and verb agree. It's asking the questions that come after that: Are these the right words? Have we said enough? Have we said too much? Is this even true? Do the ideas flow intuitively from sentence to sentence to illuminate the subject? What's being implied here that we might not intend to say? What's not being said that we might be assuming is implicit? Are we repeating ourselves unnecessarily? Are we repeating ourselves enough to make the case for our premises? Is the tone appropriate to the audience, and does it need to reflect a larger body of work so that everything speaks with a single voice? What's the story here? Who is telling it, who is listening, and why should anyone care?"
Give him a look. Think about adding him to your blogroll.