Tumblr crosspost (2 June 2020)

[anghraine]

As the forests shed their leaves, as the year declines,
And the oldest fall, so perish those former generations
Of words, while the latest, like infants, are born and thrive.
…Many words that are now unused will be rekindled,
Many fade now well-regarded, if Usage wills it so,
To whom the laws, rules, and control of language belong.
 

Horace on … linguistic descriptivism? (Ars Poetica, c. 19 BCE)

 

Comments

[lokifan]

Oh wow, yeah.

[anghraine]

It goes back a long way!