Anne Curzan
Speaker
Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, Geneva Smitherman Collegiate Professor of English, Linguistics, and Education, University of MichiganUnited States
EASE Webinar: Says Who? A Linguist’s Look at Usage Conundrums
Tuesday, 17 February 2026
Do you believe the words “healthful” and “healthy” should mean different things? Are you worried that writers no longer understand how to use the apostrophe? Do you feel the need to replace “based off” with “based on”? If these questions pique your interest, then this lively webinar was for you.
Anne Curzan, a historian of the English language, linguist, and seasoned English professor, dived into shifts happening in spoken and written English and the usage conundrums they create. Drawing on her experience as a former member of the American Heritage Dictionary Usage Panel, a writing instructor, and a copy editor, Curzan tackled common usage debates like “who vs. whom,” “less vs. fewer,” “home in vs. hone in,” “data” as a singular collective noun, and the sentence-final preposition. Along the way, she shared language peeves from the past to help us gain perspective on our current moment.
EASE members, watch the recording on the EASE YouTube Channel and you will walk away with a sharper awareness of how English is evolving and practical tips about how to investigate some of these usage dilemmas.
