Remarks About the "Usage Notes" in the New Oxford American Dictionary

[Paul Frank]

On Sat, Sep 18, 2010 at 5:10 PM, Robert Hartwell Fiske <Vocabula at aol.com> wrote:
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> Sender: Â  Â  Â  American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster: Â  Â  Â  Robert Hartwell Fiske <Vocabula at AOL.COM>
> Subject: Â  Â  Â Remarks About the "Usage Notes" in the New Oxford American
> Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â Dictionary
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Very well, I make 18 remarks about the "Usage Notes"; here's the first of
> them:
>
> Remarks  About the "Usage Notes" in the New Oxford American  Dictionary
> [1] Yes, a great many people, Â whatever their education, do not shrink from
> expressing their views on good  usage or bad grammar. The English language
> is not the purview solely of the  lexicographers and linguists, the, let us
> call them, "lexlings"; it concerns all  of us who speak and write it. We
> all, no matter what our station in life, need  to be heedful of how we express
> ourselves. Although the NOAD lexlings do not, Â here, admit this, lexlings
> often disparage people who offer their views on the  English language. If you
> do not have an advanced degree in linguistics, these  lexlings maintain, you
> do not have the credentials to offer your views on the  language. That
> lexlings believe, and sometimes admit they believe, people  unschooled in
> linguistics contribute nothing to the debate about usage and  grammar is as inane
> as it is insulting.
> In the September issue of The Vocabula Review:
> _www.vocabula.com_ (http://www.vocabula.com/)

As a groundling in matters linguistic, a member of the Great Unwashed,
my first impulse is to cheer you on. But you might want to lighten
that chip on your broad shoulder. I see from your website that you
have an essay entitled "How Linguistics Killed Grammar"
(http://www.vocabulabooks.com/VBBound1.asp). I'm not a subscriber, but
I'm a bit dubious.

Cheers,
Paul

Paul Frank
Translator
German, French, Italian > English
Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Tel. +41 77 4096132
paulfrank at post.harvard.edu
paul.frank at bfs.admin.ch

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