| Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993. |
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| CONSERVATIVE USAGE |
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| prefers and defends the older, the tried and tested, and the widely accepted. It prefers not to pioneer, and it usually rejects the new whenever it has the choice. It comes very close to accepting the standards of Edited English for all writing other than Informal, and in speech it rarely drops into Casual even when the situation might invite it. At its worst, conservative usage can seem unbending and stuffy; at its best, it may sometimes seem slightly more Formal than the situation requires, but it will frequently make up for its reserved air with its precision, clarity, and good manners. Because it conserves many of the longest-lived traditions of the language, it is the kind of language least likely to age into incoherence, even as it is also the kind of language least likely to sound modish, up tempo, or flexible. Compare LIBERAL USAGE. | 1 |
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| | | The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Copyright © 1993 Columbia University Press. |
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