Date:    Thu, 23 Apr 1998 12:34:16 -0500
<br>From:    Mark Mandel <Mark[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]DRAGONSYS.COM>
<br>Subject: Re: pomo
<br>
<br>Larry Horn <laurence.horn[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]YALE.EDU> writes:
<br> >>>
<br>
<br>ANd I must say, he doesn't SOUND like someone on the staff of the OED.  ("I've
<br> never heard it, so it must be gibberish"
<br>indeed.)
<br> <<<
<br>
<br>And Fred Shapiro <fred.shapiro[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]YALE.EDU> says:
<br> >>>
<br>
<br>I too was taken aback by David Shulman's reaction to the word _pomo_ and by his
<br> description of himself as a staff
<br>member of the OED.  Let me point out, however, that Dave has been a major
<br> contributor to the OED, although
<br>I do not believe he has ever been a staff member.  Let me also point out that
<br> Dave's comments may perhaps be
<br>influenced by advanced age or poor health, if this is not too patronizing.  I
<br> hope that Dave will not be judged too harshly
<br>for these comments; he has undoubtedly contributed more to our knowledge of the
<br> English language than the great
<br>majority of the people on this list.
<br>
<br> <<<<<<<<
<br>
<br>Can we please judge Dave on his own words, rather than on misreadings and
<br> misquotations? As quoted by Barry Popik,
<br>he actually wrote:
<br> >>>
<br>
<br>>     I am on the staff of the Oxford English Dictionary.  Unless he can
<br>>explain it, it will never be an English word.  A nonce word, yes, and even
<br>>gibberish, but not English.
<br>
<br> <<<
<br>
<br>Not Larry's "I've never heard it, so it must be gibberish", but
<br>        UNLESS [the user of the word] CAN EXPLAIN IT...
<br> [emphasis added].
<br>
<br>The actual comment requires no excuse. Yes, the rest of the quote is grumpy in
<br> tone, but I might be grumpy too on seeing
<br>an unfamiliar word used without explanation.
<br>
<br>       Mark A. Mandel : Senior Linguist : mark[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]dragonsys.com
<br>    Dragon Systems, Inc. : speech recognition : +1 617 796-0267
<br> 320 Nevada St., Newton, MA 02160, USA : http://www.dragonsys.com/
<br>           Personal home page: http://world.std.com/~mam/
<br>