Antedating of "Sci-Fi"

[Jeff Prucher]

On Monday, February 17, 2014 9:58 PM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM> wrote:

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>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
>Subject:      Re: Antedating of "Sci-Fi"
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>On Mon, Feb 17, 2014 at 7:23 AM, Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu>wrote:
>
>> There has been a fair amount of attention given to the question of what is
>> =
>> the earliest use of the term "sci-fi."  The OED's first use is dated 1955.
>> =
>>  The OED web site of science fiction citations has a December 1954 usage
>> by=
>>   _Forrest J. Ackerman_, who is often said to be the coiner.  A supposed
>> usage=
>>  by Robert A. Heinlein in 1949 has been shown to be erroneous.  The term
>> lo=
>> oks very much like a Varietyism, and in fact I have now found an earlier
>> oc=
>> currence in Variety:
>>
>> 1954 _Variety_ 17 Feb. 38 (ProQuest)  New Telepix Shows ... The commercial
>> =
>> possibilities are there as well since "Junior Science," aside from its
>> posi=
>> tive qualities, is a rewarding change of pace from the more thunderous
>> sci-=
>> fi and spaceship packages.
>>

Nice find, Fred!


>
>Interesting. Fordy Ackerman and others purists associated with Astounding
>Science Fiction used to bitch about neological barbarisms like "sci-fi" and
>"scientifiction."

Many people, yes, but not Forry (who also went by "4e") -- he was one of the most ardent promoters of the so-called neological barbarisms. He called the process of creating blends like "scientifiction" "scientificombination".


Jeff


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