12.30.08
Democrecy
Language is one of the ultimate manifestations of democratic action. I can declare that the word blibbelfrigdibble means “the tendency to stop a word in the middl,” and the word takes meaning if others agree with that definition. I could spell that word as ieou7aer, and pronounce it blibbelfrigdibble, and if those I communicate with agree, then that’s how it’s spelled. Sure, arguments will ensue. “My English teacher taught me that it’s O before 7, except after a dipthong!—you descriptivist, you!” But in the history of the language, democracy wins out.
Now comes an interesting exercise both in language and in democracy, which reader Jeff Rasmussen kindly alerted me to. You see, in the formal democratic world, one places a proposed change before the public by circulating a petition. If enough people sign, then onto the ballot the proposal goes, and we vote. If people want to change the spelling of stationery (the writing paraphernalia) to stationary, they sign a petition and we vote. Well, we don’t vote, other than by our usage. But now we can sign a petition.
If you agree that stationary should become the proper spelling of both the paper goods and the adjective communicating motionlessness, then hop on over to iPetitions and support it with your John Hancock and your JohnHancock@JohnHancock.opining address. The petitioners explain:
The word “stationery” however was originally spelled with an “a” in English. It derived from the fact that such products were sold in “stationary” shops and not from travelling peddlers. Both spelling derive from the Latin stationarius defined as a place where something is located.
I know that the same folks who complain that it’s O before 7 except after a dipthong will shout that the difference in spelling communicates the difference in meaning, which is often a valid reason to discreetly retain discrete spellings. On the other hand, in this case one word is an adjective and the other a noun, so context will always clarify more quickly than spelling. And the truly technical folk will argue that stationery perhaps didn’t evolve directly from stationarious (as in the wares of a stationary store), but with lineage once removed—in that the person operating from a stationary location known as a station was a stationer, and therefore the adjective “stationery wares,” which know is known as stationery.
Doesn’t matter. One is a noun even though it was once an adjective, and the other remains an adjective. We could spell either or both as ieou7aer and still know what they mean.
Even so, on this particular ballot, I believe I shall take the reactionary stance and side with those who want to maintain the current spelling. Or would that be the reactionery stance?
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JohnnyB said,
December 30, 2008 at 11:24 am
I tend to cling to the rules I learned early on and I resist the evolution of grammar and spelling. I don’t like using “they” or “them” with singular verb forms even though it is easier than using he/she combinations. However, I have learned from your books and your blog (an odious word, but one that the blogosphere has voted in) that sometimes the “new” spelling or usage is really an old one resurrected.
In any event, the argument that spelling the paper and the motionlessness alike would cause confusion is to go against the very principles of English. I like our words like “wind”, “lead” and “live” which can be pronounced differently and have a pronounced different meaning. I think the fact that it might be confusing is reason enough to vote for the common spelling; but I’m going to make my own petition proposing that both words be spelled “stationery”, just to be contrery.
By the way, is it just coincidence that “vote” and “veto” are so similar?
Bill Brohaugh said,
January 1, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Yeah coincidence: veto and vote are both from Latin but from different words. Diffarent words? Differant words? And how long can we keep this swap-the-a-with-an-e running gag going?
speedwell said,
May 10, 2010 at 12:56 pm
Are they also proposing to change the spelling of millinery and confectionery?