Saving Dying Words

The Legal Writing  Prof  Blog has mentioned www.savethewords.org, an effort to revive words that have fallen into disuse (a coolly designed website). Novelist Thomas Hardy predated their efforts, to such a degree that the editor of the Oxford English Dictionary asked him to stop including obsolete words in his writings. Here’s the story from Michigan Today, the University of Michigan’s online newsletter.

 For lawyer/wordsmiths, there is a painful tension—using simple words that the reader readily knows v. enjoying the nuances of an extensive vocabulary.

 (Tip of the hat to Joe Dellapenna, my colleague and loyal Michigan alum)

(ljs)