Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/17/84; site opus.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!hao!nbires!opus!rcd From: rcd@opus.UUCP (Dick Dunn) Newsgroups: net.misc Subject: Re: Is English decaying rapidly? (dictionaries) Message-ID: <224@opus.UUCP> Date: Wed, 6-Nov-85 02:44:17 EST Article-I.D.: opus.224 Posted: Wed Nov 6 02:44:17 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 8-Nov-85 21:10:29 EST Organization: NBI,Inc, Boulder CO Lines: 15 One of the notable failures of some dictionaries and of many people who use dictionaries is the failure to distinguish "meaning" from "usage". As much as the authors of a dictionary might like to offer definitions which give strict guidance, they cannot. In the interest of following evolving language and making error-tolerant communication possible, they must present information about commonly-understood meanings of words. A new, somewhat peculiar meaning of a word may appear in a dictionary because the new meaning has become common enough that the dictionary needs to provide it to those who are trying to figure out what is going on. At that point someone can pick up the dictionary and say, "See, it does so mean xxx" when in fact all the dictionary is saying is, "Some people use this word to mean xxx." -- Dick Dunn {hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd (303)444-5710 x3086 ...Never attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by stupidity.