Photo“It was conceived of as another way of shuffling information,” Ms. Stamper said of the index, which seems to have been produced intermittently from the 1930s to the ’70s. Advertisement Continue reading the main story“People have so many fears about what their use of language says about them,” she said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story“I just thought, ‘Why would you need to do that?’” she recalled. Advertisement Continue reading the main storyMs. Stamper has no patience for self-styled purists who quail at “irregardless” — an actual word, she notes. There are only about 50 lexicographers working at dictionary companies in the United States today, Ms. Stamper estimated.

Source: New York Times March 22, 2017 21:35 UTC