Re: "To whom"

>Except that in your case there was no cause.  I've said it before; I'll
>said it again; "colloquial" IS NOT AN INSULT!  It was not in any way,
>shape, or form a "dismissal"!  It was describing exactly what you are
>for some reason calling "standard" English - that is, "English as she is
>spoke".  Absolutely no disparagement whatsoever is intended by or should
>be read into the adjective!
>
>I do not agree that a consensus of native speakers, even a unanimous one, is
>the same thing as a "standard".  A standard is published.  The nice
>thing about standards is that there are many to choose from, of course.
>
>-Marcos
>
>
 It isn't colloquial English though! Colloquial speech is generally
speech found mainly in informal registers, and this simply isn't true in
the matter under discussion! Practically everyone everyone simply leaves
the preposition in place in relative clauses even in very formal speech
and writing, so how is it colloquial? Calling it colloquial is a
dismissal, dismissing it from "proper"/"formal"/"standard" English! And
this simply isn't the case, as I've already argued. As for the
definition of standard, I do not agree that a standard is something
published in a guide to English usage. If we're talking about standard
written English then the stardard is the usage that the vast majority of
people adopt when writing in different registers and percieve as
standard, and standard spoken English is the usage that most people
adopt in speech and percieve as standard (also again describing usage in
different registers). Any guide to "good" English usage is only useful
inasmuch as it describes these.

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