[Ads-l] Geoffrey Nunberg R.I.P.

[Jonathan Lighter]

Jerry,

Geoff posted the letter to LanguageLog after NYRB nixed it:

https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3847

Jon Green, btw, did an excellent job on his dictionary too.  It represents
an enormous amount of labor.  I wish we'd collaborated!) Our inclusion
standards were not identical, however.

JL

On Fri, Nov 27, 2020 at 3:18 PM Cohen, Gerald Leonard <gcohen at mst.edu>
wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> As anyone who has done research on American slang is well aware,
>
> HDAS is an enormous achievement and an indispensable resource.
>
>
>
> Jon, is there  a chance of getting permission from Geoff's family
>
> to print his riposte posthumously? If they'd say yes,  I'd be happy to
>
> put the letter in Comments on Etymology so it would not be lost to
> posterity,
>
> and it could then be shared online.
>
>
> Gerald Cohen
>
> ________________________________
> Original message: Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Sent: Friday, Novmber 27, 2020 8:05 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: Geoffrey Nunberg R.I.P.
>
>
> After NYRB blasted HDAS for rank ineptitude, Geoff unexpectedly took it
> upon himself to write a feisty riposte. He sent me a copy of his letter,
> which they never published.
>
> We weren't in contact much, but this is sad news for me.
>
> JL
>
> On Wed, Nov 25, 2020 at 7:39 PM Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>
> wrote:
>
> > Thanks, Fred. Yes, Geoff was an exemplary linguist, public intellectual,
> > and human being (and, in my case, third-grade classmate), with a
> > publication record extending from books on political language and
> > punctuation to one on assholism (well, OK, that one is not unpolitical).
> > Here=E2=80=99s Richard Sandomir=E2=80=99s obit for him in the Times:
> >
> > https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/22/books/geoffrey-nunberg-dead.html
> >
> > And one on Language Log by Mark Liberman, with fond memories and thoughts
> > from Ben Z. and others:
> > https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3D48087
> >
> > LH
> >
> >
> >
> > > On Nov 25, 2020, at 7:04 PM, Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > I think it has not yet been noted on this list that Geoffrey Nunberg
> > passed away in August.  Geoff was a participant on this list and a
> > semanticist and author.  He was best known to the public as a contributor
> > to National Public Radio's "Fresh Air" show.
> > >
> > > Fred Shapiro
> > >
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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