When you want to figure out how to say or write something correctly using the English language, where do you go? To a book or Web site from Britain, perhaps, or an Ivy League resource here in the States?
The most popular English language guru on the Web today isn’t based in Oxford or at Yale, but in the Pacific Northwest. Professor Paul Brians, of Washington State University, created the Common Errors in English Usage Web site. If you do a Google search on the word “English,”
Brians’ site is highly regarded by the experts. Writers Digest named Common Errors in its renowned “Top 100 Best Web sites for 2006” in the general resources category, saying, “an alphabetical list of misused words, makes grammar-checking a breeze.” BBC Online, the HomeSchool Portal.com, and the Pacific Bell Knowledge Network are among others who have given the site their stamp of approval.
More than six million people have visited since 1997, making his Web site and book a global intersection for anyone seeking clarification on the most commonly muddied matters in English usage.
Brians’ fans enjoy both his uncommonly helpful clarifications and the homegrown mirth he uses to deliver them. He clears up confusion about sound-alikes such as cold slaw and cole slaw, and butt-naked and buck-naked. He reports misinterpretations of common phrases he encounters, such as comparing apples and organs, “a blessing in the sky,” “seizure salad,” and gems from his students’ papers, such as “The ancient Jews were circus-sized.”
The Common Errors in English Web site is at www.wsu.edu/~
The Common Errors in English Usage book and 2007 boxed calendar are available directly from William, James & Company (www.wmjasco.com--
