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Laymen, Lexicographers, and Linguists

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2026

Archibald A. Hill
Archibald A. Hill*
Affiliation:
University of Texas
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Abstract

The American Heritage dictionary, in calling on a ‘Usage panel’ to give opinions on matters of disputed usage, has developed a technique close to that of jury testing, with juries made up of naïve expert speakers, as used by linguists. The Heritage points the way to satisfying public demand for adherence to standards of correctness, so-called. The technique, however, needs to be more rigorously and consistently applied. Jury testing can also be used on a same-different basis to determine whether sequences of sounds which are identical are instances of the same or different words. The sequence suit, in ‘He brought a suit’, is one form in a context of legal action, but another in a context of clothing.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Language , Volume 46 , Issue 2 , June 1970, pp. 245 - 258
Copyright
Copyright © 1970 by Linguistic Society of America

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