NP: Happy birthday, Noah Webster

[Cat Hamilton]

>Today when we spell the word "catalog" instead of "catalogue" we can thank
>a crotchety, humorless man for saving the wear on our fingers, not to
>mention savings on paper and those obscenely expensive inkjet printer
>cartridges. Oct 16 marks the birth anniversary of Noah Webster (1758-1843),
>who compiled the 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language, the 
>first
>authoritative lexicon of American English.
>Webster believed in establishing cultural independence from Britain and
>as such he emphasized a distinct American spelling and pronunciation. His
>dictionary listed various unusual and shortened spellings of the words.
>He would have hardly imagined how the tide would turn one day. According
>to reports, more British and Australian children spell "color" instead
>of "colour", for example. Webster's suggestion of using "tung" instead of
>"tongue" didn't stuck, though. As he said, "the process of a living 
>language
>is like the motion of a broad river which flows with a slow, silent,
i>rresistible current."
>
>Today Webster's name is synonymous with dictionaries and the date of his
>birth is observed as Dictionary Day. In his honor, this week we'll present
>words about words. Happy Dictionary Day!






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