The Great American Dictionary

[Otto Sell]

Is this distinctively American?

"Nothing is absolutely correct; nothing is ever incorrect. It is just a
matter of who uses a word and why."
 from:  http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/25/arts/25SHEL.html

Otto

----- Original Message -----
From: Terrance <lycidas2 at earthlink.net>
To: <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Saturday, November 25, 2000 2:09 PM
Subject: Re: The Great American Dictionary

The main ambition is to create something distinctively American: a
democratic dictionary that describes, not prescribes. Of course the debate
over whether dictionaries should be prescriptive - asserting that a word has
relatively determined meanings and a proper usage; or descriptive, asserting
that a word has shifting meanings determined by its popular use - has been
raging for several decades. The best dictionaries maintain a precarious
balance.
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/25/arts/25SHEL.html