John earlier: > I've challenged you to go a bit deeper and consider where dictionaries > come from, >
> > dmb says: > > In any case, the dictionary is just a record of what words mean when people > use them. A dictionary does not create definitions so much as it records > them. John: Here's my point - writers are the source of meaning. Dictionaries are compiled by those who read what writers write. When a writer sits down and uses a word in a certain way, he is actively creating the definition, the context and the meaning, based upon his own nebulous flux of understanding and an attempt to create understanding in his reader. Writers don't follow the rules, Dave. Writers MAKE the rules. Successful writers create works which others agree is good, and then down the road when enough people come to a consensus about this or that work being good, dictionaries are compiled. John Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org/md/archives.html
