1960-03-10 — Page 6

What's in a word?

It takes Robert · Burchfield ten years to find out

LOOKING back on the 1950s, one capital gain for the English is clear. Their land-empire may be shrinking, but the suzerainty of their speech is still growing. Millions of Asians and Africans are learning to write English for the first time. And in Britain our language, year by yert, is stendily expanding.

In 1959 alone many new words pushed into Lalk- our everyday words like wildcat, heat- nik, payola, hovercraft and pink zone.

But how many will inst the the pace, and win stamp of approval Queen's English-by inclu Fion in the dictionary? Wi we be still talking about pops and summitry and take-overs in 19847

Coined

rented two vollants) they wil course (The Lancet has already on the job for years to come.

Thousands of quotation als from this array of readers

are

the bricks from which this great edince is slowly being built, aut

of the changing, glittering lux of our daily speech,

These slips pour in at the rate of about 1.500 week. AL- ready

10 100,000 have snowed down on the Burchfield! team In their four Oxford rouins, Over 3,500,000 slips used in compiling the were paren! dictionary. I learned that for this deleated task pre- vlous experience of dietlor.aty- making is not essential, Burch- field had none when he began two years ago, Is selection was, be assured me modestly, something of a shot in Dark" by the Oxford University Press.

Brinkmanship, for in stance, has been a vogue wordi ever since Adla Stevenson coined It in February 1956. But its popularity hns rapidly important waned since the death of John Foster Dulles,

the

10

His assistants were new lexicography. Nor did all of them beer in degree. The most assets, *A3* Mr Burchfield, are *persistence, precision, a great deal of com

non sense, and a sense of the bunt,"

And what about Mr Nabokor's nymplant, so eagerly adogard as minors! a term for Lolita-like

Trying to "beat the date" -

breome an That is a very different matter, as he says -- can for nymphet daren't Belong to alession. "We try to preserve Mr Nebolor at all. I has n our private lives. We have to

Tudor rer respectable

pedi- leur to witch the Bght off." presti

But. Mr Robert Burchßeld tele nuwe might inekade it in the desion

It becomes iz Cribrished.

Mr Durchfeld ought to know. For this cheerful, Cair-haired New Zealander of 3 serves unificiul arbiter of mid-century standard English.

AS

In a rather seedy Victorian house in Oxford he is wilting a new detibbiy which will cover the changes in our language since the last supplement to the great Oxford English Dictionary came out lo 1933.

And it is Jb. with a staff of five, to determine--"from the printed evidence, and acting the best advier avalub what to put into the dieionary and what to leave cul.

Among the sangs confronting the Burelleid team medicine. In the past 5 years the tapl PNpany of clence link of Gitar Fiat cond hypochondria?! ho giv inflate the im da patient's vocabulary.

"It's much ton vast and com ptivated, sighed Mr Burch deid, offering me a cult and n few word-samples. "Do you realise that we could fill this supplement from a medical die- Honary alone

Sex war

He is not himself, he admit- fel, very good at switching off. Bat his hobbier help. They are three children at his Oxford ůትሄ !! ገኒ ╔* Caged nine, live and taonk called Larney and one Orm (who dates back to 1200). Or wrote about 20,000 lines of verse-sermis in Middle English. and Mr Burchfield i editing them in his spare time. It was Orm, I suspect, who helped to win him the editor- ship of the dictionary.

Deadline

New

I faney, too, that te Zealander the come here with his wife na a Rhodes Scholar in 1949) he is more alert to the charging shape of English. Mr Burchfield would not be drawn.

Yet he agreed that many

al the loading English- language scholars today are Commonwealth men. And

THE CHINA MAIL,

THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 1960.

**I asked wire what they'd do with the last four minutes' warnlag in the event of a apelaar attack. 99% said 'Don't know,' and 1% hore sald 'Go and see Suzie Wong.**

LOGONLAY

GOURLAY

I report a new Summit conference for

Mr Khrushchev

-as he faces up to the problem

of his falling hair...

MUST tell you about a possible entry in the appointment book Mr

Khrushchev will take to Paris forthe Summit Conference in April.

Not tennis with Macmillan or golf with Eisenhower. But a con sultation with an American trichologist, an expert on the problems of

in the past the dictionary-falling and thinning hair. makers were led by Scots.

The eunsation was supposed Soviet scientists were well ad- future of the world hanging on When the Oxford English to have taken place when Mr K. vanced in baldness research. a few slender, brittle hairs. Dictionary Itself was effectively visited Stockholm. But of course launched in 1878 its editor pre- Mr K cancelled his visit.

leted that it would be finished

In 10 years. But by that time

The trichologist said: "The Russians may be well advanced,

The trichologist, who owns but so are we. Of course, I can. The viscount his team had only reached the clinics throughout The world, not say what I am do for Mr Belter B It was not unul 60 includes among his saliciled Khrushchev until I see his hair." One of the main tasks Is lo

years later that the project was London patients Douglas Bader, trade the birthdays of new completed.

the remarkable air, hero of the And in trying to fix words.

Ten years in the time that last war. these dates the ilctionary-

still gives Robert Burchfield

facts about us all.

career-woman

custa.

I hope he can do something for what's left of Mr K. Blus- trius hale.

The fact that it is disappear- ing like the hair of every other mortal man over the age of 30 makes him quite human.

meets an expert

THE rotting

was

East- detectives unearth enlightening himself for the new dictionary. "I am now," said the tricho-

bourne. Viscount Fur ile refuses to be eowed by past logist, who has been visiting It's an odd sidelight

the on

"in touch with the fore- London, of misguided

Kremlin to fix a definite date.

s, one of our newer and BOX war that career-girl and examples

theatrical richor

impress date back on

But it's just as well that the

rios, was there for the try- both sides of the Atlantle-only Burchfield family hasn't

When I phoned the Soviet vet

I suggest that the trichologist out of his new play. said: "We know nothing about for 1968!

He agreed to pose for a Press any private appointments Mr Ebenhower. Khrushchev may make." They Finally I resist the templation photographer, who explained that By Richard Findlater also pointed out, of course, that to make any remarks about the it was his first day in the job

1 10-47; and on the cold War

that both co-existence and iron made any post-dictionary plans Embassy in London a spokesman should also offer his services to

cartoon were first used in 1920.

All this obviously entails herculean inbours of research for the Burchfield band. But they have not much time for reading themselves. Other people do that for them.

Soon, in Britain, select panel of about a hundred renders will be scrutinising a repertoire of hand-picked books, maga-

zines and papers.

They Include eminent duns, writers and specialists in manyi felds, And if they stay

the

TALKING

POINTS

To live without loving is not really to live.

*

-MOLIERE.

Perhaps no person can be poet, or even enjoy poetry, without a certain unsoundness of mind.

-LORD MACAULAY.

**

Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the

-HELEN KELLER.

face.

(London Expran Service).

KATSER

KRUPP

FRANCO

London Express' Bervice.

WHO KNOWS AND TELLS IN HIS UNMISTAKABLE WAY

expert on photographing the dead and half-dead.”

NIKITA-date with a trichologist?

One of the constables carried a box of keys which he passed

and that he had previously which specialises in cod liver oil. worked with the police.

The viscount, I'd say, is a The photographer added: "It's fairly good advertisement for to his colleagues who were such a pleasant change to take a his own products.

before trying to open the car pleture of a live body. I'm on

driving it off triumphantly to His complexion has a healthy the pound. glow which can be compared to good pale vin rose. He is just The viscount accepted the re- 30, but he has a mature, pertly corNET

Just a few yards away, at the

of Jermyn Street and mark with aristocratie aplomo,

His publicity

thin gold Lower Regent Street, the traffic who girth supporting a

was snarled up hopelessly. carries an ivory-topped cane and watch chain. has an appropriate aristocratk

Not a policeman in sight - air, promptly pointed out: "His "y to devote a certain amount

the inspector, the lordship is very much alive. He of time to each of my interests. except

sergeant, and the three But recently the theatre seems to in a man of many Interests,"

stables. But they were busy, of Apart from the theatre, they be taking up most of it."

His latest production is "A course. include a wine shipping business Visit to a Small Flanel," which and a pharmaceutical company opened in the West End the

·Cummings

Daddy-1 thought you'd stopped fighting the last war

London Express Bervico,

agent,

Hand on chain he told me:

other night.

The viscount, 3011 of the shipping millionaire and nephew of a Vanderbilt, could afford, no doubt, to underwrite a long series of plays, even without his own wine and cod liver oil sub- sidies. He has no intention, how- ever, of being just an angel, on explolled cheque-signer.

He said: "I take on active part in all my productions.

"So far we haven't shown u

con-

Sabrina's

progress

And guess who's dating her now

prodit, but then tow bushesses YOU may not have been

do in the first two years."

Y losing sleep over the

The viscount left me to go to fate of Sabrina, last that other traditional theatre,

ro-

the House of Lords. He is an ported A unemployed in active member who takes part Hollywood.

in many debates.

He said: "It's probably the But here, for those who care, most difficult audience to od- la the latest bulletin on her pro- dress, Whatever th nubject gress.

there's always an expert to

jump up and correct you, And She is now in Miami-and in there's always the others who work. She is singing and dancing pay no attention to what you in a show itled "A Date With sáy, They're asleep -- or none- Sabrina,” thing."

for

the

Excellent midjecia, export camera of that East bourne photographer.

Five and a car

TT stood thora inoffensive

3

I'm

Her

told salary HK$30,000 a work from which she pays two of the nats. But tho has enough belt of course to buy more than enough food to nourish that well-known body.

After work, the man who bas

date with Sabrina is Joo Di- Moggio, who was once married

ly in Jermyn Strost at to Marilyn Monroe.

p.m. Agamall Corman

Despite his previous experi-

sports car. Surrounded by ence he regards Babria, I'm

a polico inspector, ako sar- told, with something approxi-

pent, and

stables.

three

con- mating to awe.

-Conton Kapten Kervice).