Paradigms Lost
Most of us - almost all - must take in and give out language as we breath, and we had better consider the seriousness of language pollution as second only to air pollution. For the linguistically disciplined, to misuse or mispronounce a word is an unnecessary and unhealthy contribution to the surrounding smog. To have taught ourselves not to do this, or - being human and thus also imperfect - to do it as little as possible, means deriving from every speaking moment the satisfaction we get from a cap that snaps on a container perfectly, an elevator that stops flush with the landing, a roulette ball that comes to rest exactly on the number on which we have placed our bet. It gives us the pleasure of hearing or seeing our words - because they are abiding by the rules - snapping, sliding, falling precisely into place, expressing with perfect lucidity and symmetry just what we wanted them to express.”
(The excerpt is from theater and film critic John Simon’s Paradigms Lost: Reflections on Literacy and Its Decline. My copy is signed with the following inscription: “For Boyd: Gratefully for his hospitality, thankfully for his artistic concern. John Simon, November 16, 1980.” The occasion of the signing was a visit by Mr. Simon - then theater critic for New York magazine and known for his erudition and sharp tongue - to Toronto to speak at the inaugural conference of the Canadian Theater Critics Association of which I was a board member. Mr. Simon, who is now 86 years old and still writing arts criticism, was a charming and provocative guest which made my hosting him for lunch and dinner a distinct pleasure.)
