2006-03-16

Interesting Post

Stumbled across this interesting post while doing some research at work.

So your thoughts, how should the dictionary work?

posted at 10:54

1 Comments:

Blogger Mike Clawson stated ...

Since I studied language and linguistics in college and grad school I've thought about this a lot. I'd have to say that I definitely lean towards dictionary's following the language. Language is always changing, it's never static. The only languages that never change are called dead languages (e.g Latin, Ancient Greek, etc). That's because no one actually speaks them natively. When a language is living, when people are using for day-to-day communication, then it's going to change. Meanings of words are not set in stone. They're ultimately just cultural conventions, so when our culture changes, the meanings of words change with it.

Personally I think this is a good, healthy and beautifully creative thing. It's because our language can morph and change that we can have the breadth of amazing literature and poetry that we do in the English language. Other lanauges, French for example, that they try to keep a tighter rein on, have much less creative, artistic potential. Maybe that's why the French are known for their food, not their literature. :)

Just my .02...

commented at March 16, 2006 1:27 PM  

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