How a dictionary writer defines English

Kory Stamper works for Merriam-Webster. So how does a dictionary writer define the language? Follow Phil Edwards and Vox Almanac on Facebook for more: https://www.facebook.com/philedwardsinc1/

You can find Kory's new book here: http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/530504/word-by-word-by-kory-stamper/?ref=PRHE46144D4DF00&aid=randohouseinc20897-20&linkid=PRHE46144D4DF00

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Dictionaries don't just appear. People have to write them. At Merriam-Webster, one of those people is Kory Stamper.

The history of dictionaries involves a lot more than just looking at words. Lexicographers have to pore through hundreds of years of documents to understand where English has been and is going. Defining English, both for vocabulary and grammar, is a daunting task that Stamper tackles every day.

It opens into a wider grammatical debate as well, between prescriptivism and descriptivism, which pits two philosophies against each other.

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