[Ads-l] What is a NOVEL?

[Barretts Mail]

I laughed out loud until I Googled for Bible novel. BB

> On 9 Jul 2018, at 12:05, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU> wrote:
> 
> How about the Bible?  Or the OED?  (Maybe the compact edition of the latter just to be on the safe side.)
> 
>> On Jul 9, 2018, at 3:04 PM, David Wilton <dave at WILTON.NET> wrote:
>> 
>> Based on how my students use the word, "novel" is synonymous with "book." Fiction or non-fiction doesn't matter.
>> 
>> I've yet to see them use the word to be synonymous with a short poem, but some do call "Beowulf" a "novel."
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Jonathan Lighter
>> Sent: Monday, July 09, 2018 9:15 AM
>> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>> Subject: Re: [ADS-L] What is a NOVEL?
>> 
>> Hey, Mark, I warned about just this development years ago, with many gratuitous updates!
>> 
>> And it ain't restricted to fiction!
>> 
>> JL
>> 
>> On Mon, Jul 9, 2018 at 8:26 AM Mark Mandel <mark.a.mandel at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>>> I've read somewhere that the use of "novel" is spreading out, like
>>> soup spilled on a tablecloth, to include any kind of fiction. Bleah!
>>> 
>>> Mark Mandel
>>> 
>>> On Jul 9, 2018 3:28 AM, "Charles C Doyle" <cdoyle at uga.edu> wrote:
>>> 
>>> A website called "shortlist.com" lists among "the 30 greatest war
>>> novels of all time" Shakespeare's _Henry VI_ (the trilogy,
>>> apparently).
>>> 
>>> 
>>> --Charlie

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org