autumn vs. fall

[Tom Zurinskas]

Mentioned before here is the fact that USA weather people define fall as the 3 months of sept, oct, nov.  The other seasons following in suit.  Makes way more sense to me.  The definition should be changed.

Tom Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL7+
see truespel.com phonetic spelling



>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Laurence Horn
> Subject: Re: autumn vs. fall
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> At 5:43 PM +0100 11/9/10, Paul Frank wrote:
> >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...
> >
> And not just over the past 5 years. Compare this eloquent plaint
> from over a decade ago:
> =================
> ... "Since the autumn of the Berlin Wall a decade ago, rightist
> violence has become a fact of German life" (IHT, August 2 [2000], p.
> 5). This makes me think that a New York Times slot man or drudge
> makes it his business to replace the word fall with the posher but in
> my opinion uglier word autumn.
>
> More likely some stylistic rule that makes the change. Reminds me of
> that list of songs printed somewhere, that included "African-American
> is the Color of My True Love's Hair."
>
> RIma [McKinzey]
> =================
> For British English, though, a distinction is sometimes made between
> the three-month season and the actual leaf-dropping, as witness the
> minimal pair in this observation:
>
> The fall had come late this year, and after one of the most beautiful
> autumns she could remember.
>
> --P. D. James (2004), The Murder Room
>
>
>
> LH
>
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