Allen Walker Read

An English professor and etymologist (one who investigates the origin and historical development of words), in 1941 Read set out to help some researcher friends working on the Dictionary of American English to discover the origin of the word "O.K." At the time it was thought to have originated as an Indian word, but after years of research for the earliest reference he found it started at a Boston newspaper in 1838 which liked to use playful spellings and abbreviations; "O.K.", according to the paper, meant "oll korrect" (or "all correct".) (He also disproved the Martin Van Buren "Old Kinderhook" legend; Van Buren used that slogan in his re- election well after the 1838 newspaper citation.) Read was a "liberal" grammarian: "The great danger in the use of dictionaries is that they may come to be thought of as straitjackets that prevent the swinging, free enjoyment of the mother tongue," he once wrote. That brought him considerable criticism, with other linguists scoffing Read was "a wrong-side-up pedant" and "standardless sociologist of language." He replied that "Anyone who tries to defend 'the treasure of our tongue' should recognize that a valuable part of the treasure is the colloquial element, localisms and slang." He died in New York on October 16. He was 96. From This is True for 20 October 2002 Suggestions for further reading: Frindle by Andrew Clements Amazon Price: $5.99 Customer Review: It is great to have kids read and really great to have a place to go to find excellent books - Amazon.   Aspire: Discovering Your Purpose Through the Power of Words by Kevin Hall Amazon Price: $16.49 Customer Review: Kevin has managed to share many words that I have taken for granted for so many years, and shed a ray of understanding that has enabled me to see more clearly! The words he discovered along his path, that are shared in this book, are so very simple, ...   Wordcatcher: An Odyssey into the World of Weird and Wonderful Words by Phil Cousineau Amazon Price: $10.85 Customer Review: The lexicon expands throughout history, but few know the stories behind the words. "Word Catcher: An Odyssey Into the World of Weird and Wonderful Words" delves into the English language and tries to find the history behind the names and common phras...   Exploring Medical Language: A Student-Directed Approach by Myrna LaFleur Brooks BEd RN Amazon Price: $47.71 Customer Review: book was in great conditions a couple of pages written on but no big deal. arrived faster than stated and expected...kuddos! didn't have the flash cards though...didn't really need them ;^) Thank you, will definetely keep you on my book.   English from the Roots Up Flashcards, Vol. 1 by Joegil K. Lundquist Amazon Price: $16.20 Customer Review: We homeschool and I leave these lying around and the kids will open them up and learn a couple here and there. They are also great for car rides. I like them because you can pull them out as you wish and learn a new root word, its meaning and wheth...   Newsfeed display by CaRP

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