Книга: Lynch Jack «The Lexicographer's Dilemma: The Evolution of'Proper'English, from Shakespeare to South Park»

The Lexicographer's Dilemma: The Evolution of'Proper'English, from Shakespeare to South Park

Серия: "-"

For language buffs and lexicographers, copy editors and proofreaders, and anyone who appreciates the connection between language and culture - the illuminating story of proper English. In its long history, the English language has had many lawmakers - those who have tried to regulate, or otherwise organize, the way we speak. The Lexicographer's Dilemma offers the first narrative history of these endeavors, showing clearly that what we now regard as the only correct way to speak emerged out of specific historical and social conditions over the course of centuries. As literary historian Jack Lynch has discovered, every rule has a human history, and the characters peopling his narrative are as interesting for their obsession as for their erudition. The struggle between prescriptivists, who prescribe a correct approach, and descriptivists, who analyze how language works, is at the heart of Lynch's story. From the sharp-tongued satirist Jonathan Swift, who called for a government sponsored academy to issue rulings on the language, and the polymath Samuel Johnson, who put dictionaries on a new footing, to John Horne Tooke, the crackpot linguist whose bizarre theories continue to baffle scholars; Joseph Priestley, whose political radicalism prompted riots; and the ever-crotchety Noah Webster, whose goal was to Americanize the English language - Lynch brings to life a varied cast as illuminating as it is entertaining. Grammatical rules or laws are not like the law of gravity, or laws against theft or murder - they're more like rules of etiquette, made by fallible people and subject to change. Charting the evolution of English, Jack Lynch puts today's debates - whether about Ebonics in the schools or split infinitives in the New York Times -in a rich historical context, and makes us appreciate anew the hard-won standards we now enjoy.

Издательство: "Daedalus Books" (2011)

ISBN: 978-0-8027-1700-9

Lynch, Jack

▪ prime minister of Ireland
in full  John Mary Lynch 
born Aug. 15, 1917, Cork, County Cork, Ire.
died Oct. 20, 1999, Dublin

      Irish politician who was prime minister of Ireland from 1966 to 1973 and from 1977 to 1979.

      Lynch studied law and entered the civil service (Department of Justice) in 1936. He eventually decided on an active legal career, was called to the bar (1945), resigned from the civil service, and practiced on the Cork circuit. He entered politics as a member of the opposition in 1948 and worked closely with Eamon De Valera (de Valera, Eamon). After his party, Fianna Fáil, came to power in 1951, he was a parliamentary secretary in 1951–54, minister for the Gaeltacht (Gaelic-speaking districts) in 1957, minister for education in 1957–59, minister for industry and commerce in 1959–65, and minister for finance in 1965–66.

      When Sean Lemass (Lemass, Sean F) announced his retirement as taoiseach (prime minister) in 1966, the result was an internal party conflict over the succession that led to Lynch's selection as a compromise candidate. In November he became head of Fianna Fáil and prime minister. In 1969 Lynch played an important role as civil unrest mounted in Northern Ireland. He steered a middle course during this period: he allowed the Irish army to provide medical treatment to Roman Catholics injured in Ulster who were afraid to seek treatment there, but he fired two cabinet ministers who were suspected of involvement in smuggling arms into Northern Ireland and he did not permit the army of Ireland to intervene in the north.

      In 1972 Lynch secured a successful referendum on Ireland's entry into the European Economic Community, and on January 1, 1973, Ireland became a member. Though favouring the unity of Ireland and Northern Ireland, Lynch took a tough attitude toward the terrorist activities of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), arresting several members over the years. Defeated in the 1973 elections, his party returned to power after the 1977 elections. In December 1979, however, discouraged about his party's prospects, Lynch resigned his leadership and soon after retired from politics. He served on a number of corporate boards after his retirement.

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Источник: Lynch, Jack

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