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.