> > What do you mean by "Webster's"? Many dictionaries are published
> > under that name or variants thereof.
>
> This discussion just occurred on the American Dialect Society list. There are
> several dictionaries published under the name of Webster's.
My point exactly.
> This is the nature of language evolution, which happens in the written
> as well as the spoken form. An illustration of this is the difference even
> between British English and American English spelling.
American spelling is an illustration of evolution? On the contrary,
it's an illustration of prescription. Noah Webster established
those bizarre forms by fiat. He won out in many (though not all)
cases because he controlled the publication of spellers and
dictionaries in the US. Evolution had nothing to do with it.
> > (By the way, I do not need a lecture on descriptive/prescriptive
> > linguistics.)
>
> That was not a lecture.
Sorry, didn't mean to accuse you of lecturing. My remark was
intended rather to stave off lectures from others.
Scott Horne
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