READINGS IN LANGUAGE

William Safire’s English language legacy extolled, defended

Two writers pay tribute to the late William Safire, the American author, columnist, journalist, long-time New York Times syndicated political columnist, and language columnist of the New York Times Magazine where he wrote on popular etymology, new or unusual usages, and other language-related topics. Safire, 79, died last September 27.

In “The Maven, Nevermore,” Ben Zimmer of The New York Times says in that in Safire’s “Language Maven,” a column that ran for 1,300 installments over a period of 30 years, the Pulitzer Prize-winning political commentator created a singular voice that left “a rich and varied legacy that shaped how Americans talk about talk.” Zimmer fondly recalls Safire professing that he had no real credentials when he was hired for the new job, saying, “Why not become English-Speaking-World Usage Dictator? So what if I hadn’t finished college, or even studied Latin? In the language dodge, I figured, a cat could look at a king.”

Read Ben Zimmer’s “The Maven, Nevermore” now!

In an article for Washingtonian.com, on the other hand, writer Harry Jaffe in “What Would Safire Say?” censures Ammon Shea, who took over Safire’s “On Language” space in the Times, for putting this line under the column: “William Safire is on hiatus.” Shea essentially spat on Safire’s grave by using that word, Jaffe bristled. “Safire would have skewered me for resorting to cliches, but he would have taken umbrage at Shea’s equivocation on matters of linguistic precision. Safire was all about rules and proper usage of the English language; Shea wants to make us feel better about misusing the mother tongue.”

Read Harry Jaffe’s “What Would Safire Say?” now!

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