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The First Users' Manual for Dummies: Analysis of Geoffrey Chaucer's "A Treatise on the Astrolabe"
Clear as Mud: The Controversy over the Use of That versus Which
Islamofascisim: Controversy over the Use of the lexicon in Political Language
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"Anyone who tries to explain "that" and "which" in less than an hour is asking for trouble. Fowler, in his Modern English Usage, takes 25 columns of type."
-William Zinsser, On Writing Well
In 2003, in a conversation with a research psychologist, I mentioned that after completing my degree in Information Systems, I was going to study English for the purpose of improving my writing skills for grad school. The psychologist asked me, "An English major? What is the rule for using that and which, I know there is one but I never remember how to use them properly?" I felt stupid not having an answer but I never lost sleep over the difference, after all, the red pen never came down. A few years later, that and which reared their ugly heads again in journalism class.
Every two weeks we had a quiz on applying rules prescribed by Associated Press Style Guide. The rules for using that and which appeared within the AP Style Guide but never showed up on exams. Our professor, Ken Weiss, also managing editor of the Catonsville Times, never once hauled any one of us out onto the carpet for using that or which improperly. Considering the complexity of the rules, there must have been times when we broke the rules. If it didn't concern Weiss as a managing editor, it didn't concern us. Once again the rules were forgotten. We simply do not fix that which is not broken. Hence, only worry about what the editor worries about.
Later, after handing out this assignment in Usage, Dr. Orgelfinger orally ran through a list of possible research topics. My ears perked on the phrase "usage of the words that versus which." That or which, which or that; the words were ringing in my ears similar to when Janet Brady in the Brady Bunch wandered into the room complaining that her sister Marcie was receiving all the attention and blurted, "Marcie, Marcie, Marcie. It's always about Marcie!" That or which, that or which; it's always about that or which. I discussed my topic choice with Dr. Orgelfinger who immediately reached for a style guide and recited the rule. I bit my tongue to give Dr. Orgelfinger the laugh line. "Well that's as clear as mud." I thought to myself, "You're the Ph.D., if it's not clear to you, you know it's not clear to me." I exited Dr. Orgelfinger's office looking left, then right, with the thought, "Cover me, I'm going in!" Little did I know I was stepping into a sea of controversy.
Style guide after style guide made similar statements about how to use that versus which. The American Psychology Association (APA) style guide summed up the rule quickly.
That clauses (called restrictive) are essential to the meaning of the sentence:Which clauses can merely add further information (nonrestrictive) or can be essential to the meaning (restrictive) of the sentence. APA prefers to reserve which for nonrestrictive clauses and use that in restrictive clauses (American Psychology Association 55).The animals that performed well in the first experiment were used in the second experiment.
Iowa State University, College of Agricultural Communications Service suggests a simple test for determining if the clause is restrictive or nonrestrictive. "If the clause can be omitted without leaving the modified noun incomplete, use which and enclose the clause within commas or parentheses; otherwise use that (Word Usage in Scientific Writing).
Nonrestrictive:Restrictive:The lawn mower that is broken is in the garage; so is the lawn mower that works. ["...that is broken..." specifies the particular mower being discussed.]The lawn mower, which is broken, is in the garage. ["...which is broken..." merely adds additional information to the sentence] (Word Usage in Scientific Writing).
This clears up the problem as to what is a restrictive and a nonrestrictive clause, but creates a new problem. When comparing the meaning of the two sentences, the first sentence informs the reader there are two lawn mowers. In the second sentence, the reader is misled. One assumes that there is only one mower when in fact there are two. The reader is never informed that there is a second mower. This is why the APA style guide prefers the "consistent use of that for restrictive clauses and which for nonrestrictive clauses, which are set off with commas, [to] help make writing clear and precise" (APA 55).
Paul Brians said, "...there is little evidence that this distinction [rule] is or ever has been regularly made in past centuries by careful writers of English" (np). The Chicago Manual of Style agrees: "Although the distinction is often disregarded in contemporary writing, the careful writer and editor should bear in mind that such indifference may result in misreading or uncertainty" (164).
Joseph Williams said the following:
This "rule" is relatively new. It first appeared in 1906 in Henry and Francis Fowler's The King's English. The Fowlers thought that the random variation between that and which to introduce restrictive clauses were messy, so they asserted that we should (with some exceptions) limit which to NONRESTRICTIVE clauses (19).
A nonrestrictive clause describes a noun that can be identified as unambiguous without the help of the clause. Williams states as an example, "ABCO Inc. ended its bankruptcy, which it filed in 1997." We know a company can have only one bankruptcy at a time, therefore we unambiguously identify the bankruptcy without the help of a clause. The clause is nonrestrictive because it cannot "restrict" the meaning of the noun phrase its bankruptcy more than its already restricted.
According to Williams, the Folwers claimed that restrictive clauses should not use which but only that: For example, "ABCO Inc. sold a product that made millions." ABCO makes many products, the clause "restricts which product the writer has in mind, and so the Fowlers claimed the clause must begin with that.
Williams continues, "I follow Fowler's advice, not because I think that a restrictive which is an error, but because that is softer and because the Grammar Police subject those who write about language to...scrutiny." According to Williams, he never uses Fowler's rule in order to make his writing "clear and precise" (Williams 19, APA 55). Williams "chooses a which when it is within a word or two of a that," because he doesn't "like the sound of two that's close together" (19). Williams is considering style, and most likely manipulates the language so that he writes his precise meaning while also maintaining clarity. This may be why the red pen has never come down on my sentence constructions.
Diana Hacker said that H. W. Folwer suggested that "if writers would agree to regard that as the defining [restrictive] relative pronoun and which as the nondefining [nonrestrictive], there would be much to gain both in lucidity and in ease" (635). Many writers find the distinction useful because one; the presence or absence of commas signals the writer's intended meaning, and second; the writer's use of which or that may reinforce the meaning, provided the writer follows Fowler's suggestion.
This is a real example that caused many debates between moderate and conservative Republicans at the 1984 convention:
The absence of a comma before the which clause sends one message to readers: We oppose only those tax increases harmful to the recovery. By choosing which, some readers receive a different message: All tax increases are harmful to the recovery. Adding a comma before which would express that meaning unambiguously. Republicans who opposed all tax increases won the battle-simply by inserting a comma before which."We therefore oppose any attempt to increase taxes which would harm the recovery" (Hacker Language Debates).
According to Hacker, R. H. Copperud said, "The prejudice against which with restrictive clauses [those with no commas] is just that, however-a prejudice" (np). Copperud thinks that placing so much emphasis on the choice of words distracts writers from the real issue-whether or not to use commas.
On the other hand, one could argue in favor of allowing an occasional which for restrictive clauses based on style. When a sentence already contains that, the word's recurrence can sound awkward. According to Hacker, Wilson Follett provides a ludicrous, yet excellent example:
Adding a which not only relieves the monotony but also makes the sentence less awkward: We believe that that machine which we built that year does just that. But this would make Williams crazy, so a better version would remove the two consecutive that's: We believe that machine which we built that particular year does just that. Hence, the two consecutive that's are removed without changing the sentence's meaning."We believe that that machine that we built that year does just that" (np).
Diana Hacker's advice in the controversy is if "you are writing for a publication that recommends observing Fowler's strict distinction between which and that, ...comply. Otherwise, observe the distinction unless doing so results in an awkward sentence," subscribing to Williams discomfort with two that's in close proximity within a sentence (np).
Folwer's rule is not a hard and fast rule usually observed by most writers. One simply has to be careful that clarity and precision are maintained while using that or which. So long as clarity in meaning is maintained there is not reason to fuss over the usage. The main question left here is who are these people, such as the Fowler's that determine the usage rules we follow?
American Psychology Association. Publication Manual of the Psychology Association. 5th ed. Washington: APA, 2001. 54-55.
Brians, Paul. Common Errors in English Usage. Wilsonville, OR: William, 2003. Sourced 21 Oct. 2006. http://wsu.edu/~brians/errors/which.html.
Fowler, Henry Watson. A Dictionary of Modern English Usage. London: Oxford UP, 1937. 635.
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: MLA, 2003. 83-85.
Hacker, Diana. "Language Debates: That Versus Which." A Writer's Reference. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins. 2003. Sourced 21 Oct. 2006. http://www.dianahacker.com/writersref/subpages_language/thatwhich.html.
The University of Chicago Press. The Chicago Manual of Style: The Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers. 14th ed. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1993. 166-167.
Williams, Joseph M. Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 2003. 17-19.
"Word Usage in Scientific Writing." Iowa State University, College of Agricultural Communications Service. Ames, IA. Sourced 21 Oct. 2006. http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/checklist.html.
American Psychology Association. Publication Manual of the Psychology Association. 5th ed. Washington: APA, 2001.
Brians, Paul. Common Errors in English Usage. Wilsonville, OR: William, 2003. Sourced 21 Oct. 2006. http://wsu.edu/~brians/errors/which.html.
Crystal, David. "Grammatical Mythology." The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. New York: Oxford UP, 1995.
---. "Modern English." The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. New York: Oxford UP, 1995.
---. "Social Variation." The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. New York: Oxford UP, 1995.
Fowler, Henry Watson. A Dictionary of Modern English Usage. London: Oxford UP, 1937.
Fowler, Henry Watson and Francis George Fowler. The King's English. London: Oxford UP, 1906.
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: MLA, 2003.
Goldstein, ed. The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law. 39th ed. New York: Basic Books, 2004.
Hacker, Diana. "Language Debates: That Versus Which." A Writer's Reference. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins. 2003. Sourced 21 Oct. 2006. http://www.dianahacker.com/writersref/subpages_language/thatwhich.html.
Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers: A Brief Handbook. 4th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2000.
Lunsford, Andrea A. The Everyday Writer. 2ed ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins. 2001.
Millward, C. M. A Biography of the English Language. 2nd ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt, 1996.
Morenberg, Max. Doing Grammar. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2002.
Strunk, William, Jr. The Elements of Style: With Revisions, an Introduction, and a Chapter on Writing. Ed. E. B. White 4th ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2000.
"That/which (restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses)." The American Heritage Book of English Usage: A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English. Boston: Houghton, 1996. Bartleby.com: Great Books Online. 2000. Sourced 21 Oct. 2006. http://www.bartleby.com/64/C001/062.html.
The University of Chicago Press. The Chicago Manual of Style: The Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers. 14th ed. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1993.
Williams, Joseph M. Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 2003.
"Word Usage in Scientific Writing." Iowa State University, College of Agricultural Communications Service. Ames, IA. Sourced 21 Oct. 2006. http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/checklist.html.
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