Jean Aitchison Quotes

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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

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

Word meanings are like stretchy pullovers, whose outline contour is visible, but whose detailed shape varies with use.

Jean Aitchison

Jean Aitchison

Jean Aitchison

Born: 1938 (age 88)

Bio: Jean Aitchison is a Professor of Language and Communication in the Faculty of English Language and Literature at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford.

Known for:

The Articulate Mammal (1976)
Language Change: Progress Or Decay? (1981)
Aitchison's Linguistics: Teach Yourself (2010)
The seeds of speech (1996)

Jean Aitchison on Wikipedia

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