SUO: Re: Re: Conformance
From: "Jon Awbrey" <jawbrey@oakland.edu>
> Once again, let me try to establish the totally naive point
> that the only reason why anybody would ever desire to conform
> to the dictations that happen to be recorded in some dictionary
> is if that dictionary conforms to something independent of itself,
> like actual usage in some community.
Agree.
> Moreover, the best reason why
> anybody would want to conform to the usage embodied in some community
> is if that usage enables that community to conform to some reality
> independent of itself.
That's a bit of a subjective evaluation on your part ... from my way of
thinking its not true. People might want to conform to a dictionary just
because they get more strokes from their peers if they do.
> None of this robs dictionaries of their
> power to innovate and to regulate usage, but it does require
> dictionary makers to be cognizant of what it is they can
> and cannot have power over.
Yep.
Seth Russell
http://purl.org/swag/