Truespel Spam

[Mark Mandel]

What he said.

m a m

On Feb 5, 2008 12:04 AM, Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at babel.ling.upenn.edu>
wrote:

> My comment  was of course written in jest (even if I neglected to add
> an emoticon). I was just struck by the ludicrousness of a
> "theological" ADS-L, presumably run by a cabal of high priests. I'm
> not interested in excommunicating anyone -- on the contrary, I find
> the openness of ADS-L to be one of its virtues, overall. My apologies,
> Randy, if I gave the impression of close-mindedness.
>
> I've never cared for the "professional" vs. "amateur" distinction,
> particularly when it comes to more lexicographical matters. This is a
> point I raised on Language Log recently with respect to the New
> Scientist article on "amateur" lexicography:
> http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/005360.html<http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/%7Emyl/languagelog/archives/005360.html>
> As should be obvious to anyone who regularly reads ADS-L, many of the
> most important recent discoveries in historical lexicography have come
> from the so-called "dilettantes". I certainly didn't mean to impugn
> any non-professionals with my "excommunication" jab, which was of
> course directed at one person who steadfastly refuses to learn the
> basics of phonetics and phonology -- something that any "amateur", let
> alone a self-proclaimed "expert", should be able to do.
> --Ben Zimmer
>

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