autumn vs. fall

[Paul Frank]

Brander Matthews (1852-1929) once wrote, "An American with a sense of
the poetic cannot but prefer to the imported word 'autumn' the native
and more logical word 'fall,' which the British have strangely
suffered to drop into disuse."

Is the word "autumn," as opposed to "fall," gaining popular currency
in American English? Over the past five years or so, I've noticed it
more and more in American newspapers, magazines, and on the radio. I
realize that the word "autumn" has always been available to Americans,
but I'm wondering if it's becoming more common. Over the decades, many
Britons (though off the top of my age-addled head I can't cite any)
have acknowledged that "fall" is a more beautiful word than "autumn."
Marlowe used the word "fall." Samuel Johnson used it in his Rambler.

Paul

Paul Frank
Translator
Chinese, German, French, Italian > English
Espace de l'Europe 16
Neuchâtel, Switzerland
paulfrank at bfs.admin.ch
paulfrank at post.harvard.edu

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