MSGID: 1:153/716.0 0037a809
REPLY: 68.fidonet_englisht@1:218/840 244a17e2
CHRS: IBMPC 2
Hi, Bob!  Recently you wrote in a message to All:

BR>  Posting here in English Tutor because this is
BR>  the best place I can think to discuss English
BR>  language matters of interest.


          Yes!!!  :-)



BR>  For those of you who have Netflix in the USA,
BR>  they've made "The Professor and the Madman"
BR>  available for streaming.  The movie tells the
BR>  story of how the Oxford English Dictionary was
BR>  created in the late 1800's.


          Netflix doesn't have it available here in Vancouver, but the public
library does.  Thanks to your recommendation Dallas & I are currently reading
the book & his name is on a v-e-r-y long waiting list for the movie....  :-))



BR>  The OED is something I've always been fascinated
BR>  with, and the story of its creation is quite
BR>  dramatic.


          We'd run across a few parts of the story line before, e.g. the fact
that one of the chief contributors was thought to be insane.  But as the book
points out the definition of insanity 'way back might be questioned nowadays.
What matters for purposes of this discussion is that Dr. Minor was apparently
very intelligent, well educated, and methodical... and that because he wasn't
considered a threat he was allowed to keep his private library.  Since he had
nothing else to do he had time to keep up with the workload.  I'm glad to see
that this project evidently improved the state of his mental health too.  :-)



BR>  For those of you who have Netflix in the USA, they've
BR>  made "The Professor and the Madman" available for
BR>  streaming.  The movie tells the story of how the Oxford
BR>  English Dictionary was created in the late 1800's.  The
BR>  OED is something I've always been fascinated with, and
BR>  the story of its creation is quite dramatic.


          Agreed.  The OED is unique in that all of the examples are based on
what native speakers... including GBS & Agatha Christie... actually said.  If
Fowler didn't approve of what they said, that's a different issue AFAIC.  :-Q



BR>  The task of collecting every word in the English
BR>  language and charting its path from first published
BR>  usage was daunting and took nearly 50 years.


          Yes... and it involved many people whose names are lost to history,
but AFAIC it was well worth the effort.  :-)



BR>  For word lovers the OED can't be beat.


          The version Dallas & I have cost $100, quite some time ago, when it
was offered as an incentive for joining a book club which we dropped ASAP.  I
don't use it as often as I once did because the print is quite small.  All of
the material is there... but it's been reduced to two volumes.  Nevertheless,
it's the source I rely on to this day when I want to track down details along
the lines of why Noah Webster chose one particular spelling over another.  In
many cases, various spellings were used in England at the time.  If the Brits
settled on one & the Americans settled on another that's understandable.  :-)



BR>  For historial entertainment "The Professor and the
BR>  Madmen" is a decent watch.


          Okay... so the movie is historical fiction.  When we don't know for
certain who said what to whom in private conversation, we have to accept that
much of it has been added by script writers.  But when most of it agrees with
what we already know... or believe we do... we can learn a lot that way.

          Many thanks for your input on the topic....  :-)




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