Interview on WBUR’s “On Point” with Tom Ashbrook about taking over as the new “On Language” columnist for the New York Times Magazine.
Language never stands still. Usage, phrasing, new words, new meanings, new “penumbras and emanations” are unending.
And it frames the way we see the world. For decades, language maven William Safire tracked the course and politics of American English in his “On Language” column for The New York Times. Last fall, the great maven died.
This weekend, his much younger successor, Ben Zimmer, steps up to the plate — ready to take on “the party of no,” the politics of yes, the verb “to Kanye,” and a whole lot more.
This hour, On Point: we’ll talk with the new language maven, Ben Zimmer.
(Show page, audio)
Jack Lynch, “Zimmer at the Helm” (“Proper Words in Proper Places” blog, Psychology Today, Mar. 14, 2010)
William Safire wrote the On Language column for the New York Times Magazine for many years, and he was certainly a witty and genial commentator; I’ve read his columns, and the books collected from them, for many years. But Safire sometimes let his wit and his style take the place of serious engagement with the complexities of the language.
Safire died last year; the Times has now announced his replacement: Ben Zimmer. I know Ben slightly, and know his work better, and am pleased to report he’s the real deal. He’s got a scholar’s knowledge of how language works, but, unlike so many linguists who presume to write about the language for layfolk, he can actually write. He’s already written a few On Language columns; now he’s taking over for real.
I encourage those with an interest in language to keep an eye out for the columns. He’s one of the few who can navigate the narrow channel between the mumbo-jumbo on the one side and the hairballs on the other.
Read the rest here.
Tom Sumner, “The ‘We Knew Ben Zimmer When’ Edition” (Publisher’s Round-up, William, James, & Co, Mar. 12, 2010)
Being asked to write the “On Language” column must be the language-columnist equivalent of being asked to host The Tonight Show. William Safire set the standard for the position just as surely as Jack Paar did so for the late-night talk show. This is big–really, really big. The only thing bigger than this is the congratulations and best wishes we send to Ben Zimmer. Ben Zimmer, “On Language” columnist for The New York Times just sounds great, doesn’t it? This is going to be good.
Read the rest here.
“The New York Times Magazine Names Ben Zimmer as ‘On Language’ Columnist,” (Business Wire, Mar. 11, 2010)
The New York Times Magazine announced today the appointment of linguist and lexicographer Ben Zimmer as the new “On Language” columnist. Mr. Zimmer succeeds William Safire who was the founding and regular columnist until his death last fall. The column is a fixture in The Times Magazine and features commentary on the many facets – from grammar to usage – of our language. “On Language” will appear bi-weekly beginning March 21.
In making the announcement, Gerald Marzorati, editor of the magazine said, “Ben brings both an academic’s deep knowledge and a maven’s eye, ear and passion to his commentary on the way Americans write and speak now. We welcome him to our roster and know our readers and ‘On Language’ devotees will greatly enjoy his columns.”
“It’s an honor and a privilege to be welcomed in the space that William Safire called home for thirty years,” Mr. Zimmer said. “I look forward to continuing this fine tradition with my own take on how language shapes our past, present and future.”
Read the rest here. See also: Editor & Publisher, Huffington Post, The Wrap, and Media Bistro: FishbowlNY.