Home / Quotes / Quote by Kory Stamper

Quote by Kory Stamper

“Whenever you try and simplify how people speak, it's just hard to squish them into a simple rule. Language doesn't work that way.”

Quote by Kory Stamper

Author

Limited information is available about Kory Stamper, whose occupation and category are unknown. more

You May Also Like

“What makes autocorrect really interesting for a lexicographer is we read in a very weird way. A lot of times we'll catch things that are so clearly autocorrect typos, and you learn to tell the difference between an honest-to-goodness, ham-fisted typo and an autocorrect typo because the latter will not necessarily be a difference of one letter apart on the keyboard, which is usually what typos are, or it won't be the wrong its or the wrong there.”

Interesting Really Interesting

Author:Kory Stamper

“I certainly self-police my language depending on who I'm talking to. I try to be very careful about using filler words, about not drawling certain vowels, even when I can't say "drawl" without drawling. That's kind of sad, because self-policing inhibits communication. You're more focused on the words coming out of your mouth or that should not be coming out of your mouth than making a connection with the person you're speaking to.”

Trying Kind Language Communication Careful Focused

Author:Kory Stamper

“We want to emulate the educated class, even if we don't think of educated people as a class these days.”

People Thinking Educated

Author:Kory Stamper

“The initial 18th-, 19th-century intention was to give the less-educated lower classes a way to move up into this new, rising middle class, to enable them to fit in. So our view of language as being class-based is an unintended consequence of the drive to help educate rising businessmen.”

Giving Helping Moving Language Fit Consequence Intention Middle Class Educate Businessman

Author:Kory Stamper

“The history of English is full of that, lots of things done with good intentions that 200 years down the road have resulted in a giant mess, where someone's pet peeves - like John Dryden and his hatred of terminal prepositions - could become real standards.”

Real Done Hatred Intention Mess Pet Good Intentions Peeves Pet Peeve

Author:Kory Stamper

“I don't know that I would say words are more political now, particularly after Donald Trump has come into office. I will say that what I notice is that people pay more attention to the words that politicians use. They really want to understand the full nuance, the connotative meanings of those words.”

People Political Attention Politician Office

Author:Kory Stamper

“Words have always been political, and that means that, in many people's minds, dictionaries are political. Because that's what dictionaries do: they do words.”

Mind Mean Political Dictionary

Author:Kory Stamper

“I think when dictionaries define words, there's a sort of hair-splitting that to most people doesn't make any sense, which is we're not describing what a thing is.”

People Thinking Dictionary

Author:Kory Stamper

“We're not saying that marriage, the thing, is now open to anyone of any gender. We are saying, when the word marriage is used in this particular context, this is what it means. And it was the same with "alternative facts." That was a big one. "Feminism" was a big one. And when people came to the "marriage" entry, because we live in the Internet age, they either immediately fire off an email to us saying they're horrified at how commie-pinko-liberal we are, or they fire off an e-mail saying thank you so much for speaking truth to power.”

People Mean Age Feminism Internet Gender Saying Thank You

Author:Kory Stamper

“It's very easy, when things like the gay marriage write-in happen, to get sick of how people view language and say, "ah, come on it's just a dictionary." But then you hear from people who say if you take out "retarded" it won't exist anymore, and there will be no slurs for people to call my child. And that's just heartrending.”

People Children Language Easy Gay Sick My Children Gay Marriage Dictionary Retarded

Author:Kory Stamper