ADS FAQ

[Grant Barrett]

I have in the past made two false starts on a FAQ. Clearly, I am not
the best person for answering the questions, because I am not
qualified. That has been the hold-up in both efforts.

I have some cut-and-paste responses to the common questions which,
while not helpful, are a bit more detailed than "Try Google" or "Check
a dictionary," which is my usual response to students trying to get
someone to do their homework for them.

But answer even the easy ones below, if you please, and we can come up
with a good synthesis. The more the merrier. Humor appreciated. Write
for the layman, please. Include references. Add any questions you know
the answers to, if you wish. Pet topics welcome. Debunking of popular
grammar or language myths welcome.

Here are the generified frequently asked questions, based on the actual
questions in my email box:

Where can I find the origin of...?
Where can I find the meaning of...?
What is a dialect? How many are there? Where do they come from?
Where can I find tapes of English dialects? For an actor? For an
academic? For a foreign call center?
Where can I find back issues of American Speech?
How do you pick the Word of the Year?
Why didn't you consider ... for Word of the Year?
Why isn't the Word of the Year a word?
I am a pedant: WHY ISN'T THE WORD OF THE YEAR A WORD????!!!??????
How do languages change?
How do new words enter the language?
How do new words enter a dictionary?
I have a word I invented or coined. Who do I submit it to?
How do I copyright a word I invented or coined?
Where do I find the answer to this word puzzle someone forwarded to me?
Do you people actually get paid to do this?
I am teaching my students about language. Do you have or can you
recommend any materials to help?
How do we know how English sounded before the age of recorded sound?
Is it true that English in the Ozarks or Appalachia sounds like
Elizbethan English?
What's the deal with coke, pop and soda?
How did the Southern accent come about?
How many American dialects are there?


--
Grant Barrett
gbarrett at americandialect.org
American Dialect Society webmaster
http://www.americandialect.org/