tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8507136945842934293.post8364105992759884962..comments2023-09-21T06:15:03.099-07:00Comments on Conjugate Visits: Dictionaries Gone WildJune Casagrandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00363096837053080969noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8507136945842934293.post-23986288090281324662008-07-11T10:07:00.000-07:002008-07-11T10:07:00.000-07:00I applaud M-W for being out in front with new word...I applaud M-W for being out in front with new words, especially some of the beautiful (no, I'm serious) and clever coinages I've seen in my lifetime. <BR/><BR/>I'm not so wild about their tacit approval of sloppy spelling and gross mispronunciation.<BR/><BR/>And, even in the area where they might more often get it right, it is difficult not to suspect their motives, especially in this infotainment, market-driven, sensationalizing, spin-doctored, over-promoted, Fox-News culture in which we live--and in which they seem just a little too comfortable.Joelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05550742712966484303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8507136945842934293.post-87010377809676579872008-07-10T14:15:00.000-07:002008-07-10T14:15:00.000-07:00I'm not say they're making the wrong choices. I'm ...I'm not say they're making the wrong choices. I'm saying I that I find their motivations suspect. <BR/><BR/>As you said, they may well be conducted very extensive and responsible research and may indeed just be ahead of the curve. But I suspect that attention-getting is influencing decisions that should be devoid of such influences.June Casagrandehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00363096837053080969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8507136945842934293.post-27541939851996711062008-07-10T13:53:00.000-07:002008-07-10T13:53:00.000-07:00Are you suggesting that the M-W lexicographers are...Are you suggesting that the M-W lexicographers are just adding words without researching their usage and history? I find this hard to believe. They might be adding words faster than other dictionaries, but that doesn't mean it isn't serious lexicography.<BR/><BR/>You seem to be saying that "air quotes," Frankenfood" etc. are not common enough to be part of the standard language. (I assume you're not taking the Fiskean position that these words shouldn't be in M-W just because you don't like them.) But how do you know? Other dictionaries might just not be as fast at adding them.<BR/><BR/>The OED includes all kinds of words that its editors might not "sanction" as well.goofyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14760721504519661112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8507136945842934293.post-37849653585572835022008-07-09T09:10:00.000-07:002008-07-09T09:10:00.000-07:00You just described the crowd at my local Ralphs gr...You just described the crowd at my local Ralphs grocery store to a T.<BR/><BR/>Seriously, thank you. When I saw that clip on the news site, it took me a while to decide how I felt about the whole business. In any "We're going to hell in a hand basket argument," there always seems to be so much fear that we're on a slippery slope and if we let go a little, we'll slide straight to hell. Therefore, powerful enforcements must be put in place.<BR/><BR/>But really, until this silliness, I think lexicographers have done a pretty good job of responsibly documenting our language. It's just our "Tune in Friday when an ankle-covering fascist and an STD-infested pimp play 'Wife Swap'!" that has affected it.<BR/><BR/>(I'll be laughing at those descriptions of yours all day!)June Casagrandehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00363096837053080969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8507136945842934293.post-53074143003488756342008-07-09T08:00:00.000-07:002008-07-09T08:00:00.000-07:00June, this is lovely and it seems to me that you'r...June, this is lovely and it seems to me that you're defining a movement. Seriously. I love the metaphor. I'm especially fond of "There's a difference between free love and prostitution."<BR/><BR/>It does often seem like we who yearn for the emancipation of the language are hemmed in by neo-victorian ankle-covering, fascist, fundamentalist prudes on the one side and STD-infested, fetishist, gang-banging, profit-driven pimps on the other. Or, um, something like that.Joelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05550742712966484303noreply@blogger.com