One of the best sessions I went to at NMX in Las Vegas this year was the very first session of the conference by Mignon Fogarty, otherwise known as Grammar Girl.

Mignon Fogharty

Mignon has a wonderful podcast called Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing. Her podcast has won best educational podcast awards. It’s been downloaded from iTunes millions of times, and Mignon has a whole collection of Quick and Dirty tips podcasts about many different topics on her website at quickanddirtytips.com.  So, I was quite nervous as I was standing in line to ask her for an interview after her presentation.

I was so nervous in fact, that I forgot to ask her all the questions I’d prepared. But, as you’ll hear, she was lovely and a real pleasure to chat to. So here’s my Quick and Dirty interview with Mignon Fogarty, otherwise known as Grammar Girl.

Vocabulary
a blanket apology = an apology (“I’m sorry”) that covers all things someone says or does
follow-up (message) = sucesivo, subsecuente
typo = errata
lifesaver = salvavidas
to come about = suceder, pasar, ocurrir
to brush up = repasar, refrescar la memoria
at heart = en el fondo, por naturaleza
upset = molesto, disgustado, alterado
proper = correcto, apropiado
the leading edge = de vanguardia
supportive = de apoyo, de ayuda, comprensivo
it isn’t gonna (going to) fly = it isn’t going to work (no va a funcionar)
cover letter = carta de presentación
barely = apenas
get around = moverse, desplazarse
random phrases = frases aleatorias

Isn’t she nice? I had absolutely no reason whatsoever to be nervous, and I hope you enjoyed the interview with Mignon as much as I enjoyed speaking to her. But I wished I’d asked her those other two questions.

I agree with her totally on the points she made about grammar. I’m definitely a descriptivist when it comes to grammar. I have to teach the rules in class because I’m an English teacher, and that’s what I do. But language is flexible and, as Mignon says, it should be fun. I love hearing new words and expressions that come into the English language.

In the shownotes to this podcast I’ve put a link to a TED video about language in the show notes that I think you’ll find interesting. So, have a look at that video.

Don’t forget to subscibe to Grammar Girl’s podcast and go to the website quickanddirtytips.com where you’ll find some excellent podcasts on a wide range of topics.

One of my personal favourites is Stever Robbins Quick and Dirty Tips on Productivity.

Thanks for listening and I’ll talk to you soon.

More information on Prescriptivism and Descriptivism