Jean Aitchison
British linguist
WORDS ABOUT WORDS
Humans mop up words like sponges.
—Jean Aitchison, British linguist, The Language Web, 1997
Posted on July 13, 2000 at 6:41 AM
WORDS ABOUT WORDS
Word meanings are like stretchy pullovers, whose outline contour is visible, but whose detailed shape varies with use.
—Jean Aitchison, British linguist, The Language Web, 1997
Posted on May 31, 2000 at 10:41 AM
WORDS ABOUT WORDS
Most new words simply disappear, like raindrops falling and soaking into the ground. Only a few get caught in the bucket of public attention, and make their way into dictionaries.
—Jean Aitchison, British linguist, The Language Web, 1997
Posted on June 6, 2000 at 7:37 AM
WORDS ABOUT WORDS
Purists behave as if there was a vintage year when language achieved a measure of excellence which we should all strive to maintain. In fact, there was never such a year. The language of Chaucer's or Shakespeare's time was no better and no worse than that of our own — just different.
—Jean Aitchison, British linguist, Language Change: Progress or Decay?, 1991
Posted on August 30, 2000 at 2:01 PM
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