Against the pedants: an alternate view from Stephen Fry

Ladies and gentlemen, the always-spot on Stephen Fry:

Are his views contrary to Lexicide’s mission? Somewhat, and yet, the man has many points. Pedantry, the sense of academic superiority which informs so much language correction (and is often on display here), makes a poor evangelist. Can one tell the difference between disinterested used wrong (“uninterested”) and used correctly (“impartial”)? Often, yes. But then this (at 4:57): “I think what offends…when confronted with extremely informal, unpunctuated and haywire language is the implication of not caring that underlies it.”

Yes, this.

Never let it be said that we don’t enjoy language. Our love of language is what drives Lexicide maybe now a little lighter on the pedantry.

– Otto E. Mezzo

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