Whether you agree with their world view or not, it is very amusing. It projects what words will have appeared in English in the future, not a precise date, more something between 2010 and 2070. All the proceeds are donated to MoveOn though, which is surely some kind of statement on the inextricability of language and political action.

*Of course, I don’t actually own a copy, I just lurk in the back of WH Smiths (yes, there’s one in Paris) and thumb through their copy, giggling maniacally, like an underage pervert behind the red velvet curtain in the local video shop.

The Downing Street Memo? I think the main reason is that the election’s over. Some equally damning stuff came out in the run-up to the election & got a lot of people very worked up indeed. But we’ve made the point now (i.e. Labour’s got a much smaller majority) and the government’s listened and learnt (i.e. the majority’s still big enough for them to ignore us completely), so we’ve wound up Moving On and Drawing A Line. Unfortunately.

Incidentally, “fixed around the policy” seems pretty clear to me – but then, I’m English. I’d paraphrase as ‘rigged/doctored/massaged to fit the policy’.

Maybe there’s only one working-up allowed at a time.

“Discourse is great.”, said the Caribbean man.
“And so is diss one.”, replied his wife tucking into her roast duck.

Katie/Phil: Greek/Latin. It was not just the Greek language that survived but also a distinct European divide between Orthodox and Catholic Christianity. Whilst Western European languages use the Latin alphabet, the actual language never spread as it was essentially reserved for the Church. Which is why Latin is about as dead as the dodo.

Kathyf – DSM, as my friends in the States call it, has indeed caused a flap in America, but also in the British community over there. I know the office of the house judiciary committee had a ton of phone calls from Brits in the States saying, ‘yeah “fixed around” in British english, we’d call that “sexed up.”‘ Justin over at Chicken Yoghurt is quite rightly asking why Brits in Britain aren’t more worked up about it. Low expectations of our leaders (and of ourselves) to blame.

I have been asked to caveat that Hilary’s nomination will be difficult, because the Dem party knows she is the anti-christ to the GOP, and the centrists that nominated Kerry still hold sway, insisting that moving to the centre, not the left, is the key to winning in 2008. I knew this (and disagree), but the article was quite long enough already and one sentence is better than three.

I have also been told that I could have said the whole thing in one paragraph if I had a good editor. To that I say, according to Tim’s theory I could have said it in two sentences. So here goes:

1) Language defines who we are
2) Until someone decides to use it to manipulate you. And then they define who you are.

But then, I’m a blogger and a frightful egomaniac. “Bleeding edge of vanity publishing” and all that.

While I’ve got an actual linguist on the line, what’s your take on the flap over the meaning of the word “fixed” in the Downing Street Memo? I just read that on a MSNBC special on the memo yet another apologist for the administration is maintaining the Brits interpret it differently, as did Condi Rice the other day. This is rapidly becoming the party line. Any thoughts?

Jarndyce – I’m curious about question 4…What *are* we supposed to do?

Nosemonkey – Yes, I’ve been reading every review of that work and it is on the Christmas list. I am in a position where I have to wait for books to make it to the library I am afraid.

Historical linguistics is, as you say, apeshit, not nice little chronological, systematic, trees. The history of language is like a tiny room full of really messed up teenagers, with all the different bits growing at different rates and some bits being more pronounced and well, hairy, than others. But from where we’re looking, at the latest stages of the growing process, all the painful, awkward, messy stages look like like they were destined to become the relatively normal people standing in front of you today, rich and varied and identifiable. Of course, they’re about to change all over again, but once they have we’ll see why and how, although we could never have predicted it before. Bit like, ooh, wait, what’s that word, tip of my tongue? evolution?