The Word Is Out: A New Voice For 'On Language'
When William Safire died last September, the veteran columnist for The New York Times left vacant a post that he had filled for more than 30 years. Safire originated the "On Language" column in The New York Times Magazine in 1979 and continued to write it until his death.
This week, the Times Magazine announced the name of the man who would take over the role of exploring and increasing the vocabularies of Americans: Ben Zimmer.
The name should be familiar to word fans already. Zimmer is the executive producer of two Web sites, visualthesaurus.com and vocabulary.com, that cater to word freaks. After Safire died, Zimmer wrote the column remembering his colleague's contribution to linguistics. Still, Zimmer admits that his predecessor's shadow is long.
"It is a little intimidating, I have to say, especially because I can't reproduce William Safire's very distinctive voice," Zimmer tells NPR's Renee Montagne. "I'll put my own stamp on it. I'll come at it in some ways in a more scholarly way because of my background in linguistics and linguistic anthropology. But also, I will be casting a wide net. You know, everything from technology to pop culture, high-brow, low-brow, everything in between. I'll be on the lookout for all sorts of new developments that are happening in language."
Zimmer has already spent some time documenting the ways pop culture has infiltrated our language. He talks about one new word whose usage was crystallized in a particular moment: when Kanye West rushed onto the stage at the MTV Video Music Awards and took the microphone from winner Taylor Swift to announce his preference for a different video.
"It was such a watershed moment that his name, Kanye, became a verb: 'to Kanye,' or sometimes 'to pull a Kanye,' meaning to interrupt someone when they're giving a speech, like at an awards show," Zimmer says.
The world didn't have to wait long for the new word to become useful. During the Academy Awards ceremony earlier this month, Elinor Burkett rushed up onto the stage a few steps behind her co-producer for the winning documentary short, took the microphone out of his hand and proceeded to give a speech of her own.
"Right away people are saying, 'She Kanye'd that guy,' " Zimmer says. "That new word got a new lease on life from very similar circumstances."
For the first "On Language" column of his official tenure, Zimmer writes about one of the first words many people learn: "no."
And like Safire often did, he chose to examine the word's contemporary political context.
"Blocking the road to yes on health care and other initiatives," Zimmer writes,
is the Republican Congressional minority, which has been painted by Democrats as 'the party of no.' It's been a common refrain since the early months of the Obama administration, when the Democratic National Committee introduced a 'Party of No' clock on its Web site, tallying the time Republicans spent criticizing Obama's budget plan without offering their own alternative.
"Funnily enough," Zimmer tells Renee Montagne, that particular phrase "goes back to Ronald Reagan criticizing the Democrats as 'the party of no' back in 1988. And since then, it's sort of been a pingpong ball back and forth. Whoever is the party in charge calls the opposition 'the party of no.' "
In addition to the column, Zimmer will answer one question from Times Magazine readers online every other week. Asked if he's ever been stumped by a request for the history or meaning of a word, he reveals one major way the beginning of his stint at "On Language" will be different from Safire's: the Internet.
"These days it's possible to do research on these things much more easily than we could before," Zimmer says. "I remember being asked about [the phrase] 'You're not the boss of me.' People might think it comes from the '80s or the '90s, but in fact it's quite old. You can find examples from the late 19th century in very similar situations, like a petulant child complaining about an older sibling.
"That's a kind of a hidden history that — because we have these great tools at our disposal now — we can uncover this history and tell a new story about words and phrases that might be familiar with us, but we don't know where they come from until we do this detective work."
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RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
A new byline debuts this weekend in the On Language column of The New York Times Magazine. Like the crossword, On Language is a Sunday morning tradition for many readers. The venerable William Safire started the column and presided over it for 30 years before his death last year.
He did have help from a circle of language mavens, among them, linguist Ben Zimmer who is taking over the column. He joined us from our studios in New York.
Good morning.
Mr. BEN ZIMMER (Columnist, "On Language," "The New York Times Magazine"): Good morning, Renee.
MONTAGNE: You know, I'd just like to get one thing out of the way. How intimidating is it to takeover William Safire - Bill Safire's column? I mean he owned it.
Mr. ZIMMER: Yes, he did for 30 years. It is a little intimidating, I have to say - especially because I can't possibly reproduce William Safire's very distinctive voice. Ill put my own stamp on it. Ill come at it, in some ways, in perhaps, in a more scholarly way because of my background in linguistics, linguistic anthropology.
But also, you know, I will be casting a wide net. You know, everything from technology to pop culture, high-brow, low-brow, everything in between. Ill be on the lookout for all sorts of new developments that are happening in language.
MONTAGNE: Well, we do have some idea of what you're interested in. You, of course, have a Web site and its called VisualThesaurus.com. And just recently you took up the new uses of Kanye West's name.
(Soundbite of laughter)
Mr. ZIMMER: Thats right. Actually thats an interesting example from pop culture, where everybody I think at this point is familiar with the moment last year when Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards. And it was such a watershed moment that his name, Kanye, became a verb: to Kanye, or sometimes, to pull a Kanye. I mean to interrupt someone while they're giving a speech like at an awards show.
Sure enough it came into play at the Oscars when Eleanor Burkett, during the Documentary Shorts Award, sure enough, right away people are saying, wow, she Kanyed that guy.
MONTAGNE: And, of course, what had happened is she interrupted her co-producer on the winning film and just took over the speech, and sort of said, Im going to talk now.
Mr. ZIMMER: Thats right. And everybody remembered Kanye and so that new word got a new lease on life from very similar circumstances.
MONTAGNE: Your first column for "The New York Times Magazine," which will appear this coming Sunday, is in the Safire tradition of focusing on the political uses of words and terms. You begin your stint with the first words that most of us ever use: no and yes.
Mr. ZIMMER: Yeah, I looked at these two very basic words and how they're being used in politics and pop culture, as well. Very much in the Safire vein, we have the Party of No, with the Democrats describing Republican obstructionism in those terms. But suddenly enough, it actually goes back to Ronald Reagan criticizing the Democrats as the Party of No back in 1988. And since then it's sort of been a Ping-Pong ball back and forth, whoever is the party in charge calls the opposition the Party of No.
MONTAGNE: You refer to an online, sort of Hollywood gossip blog and take an expression from that. You know, this actress is a bucket of no.
Mr. ZIMMER: Thats right. I also quote the movie "Juno," "Thats a big fat sack of no." Interesting new ways people are using language that way.
MONTAGNE: Have there been times when a particular phrase or usage of a certain term has stumped you?
Mr. ZIMMER: These days it's possible to do research on these things much more easily than we could before. So I remember being asked about "You're not the boss of me." People might think that it comes from the '80s or the '90s, but in fact it's quite old. You can find examples from the late 19th century in very similar situations, like a petulant child complaining about an older sibling, "You're not the boss of me."
Thats a kind of a hidden history, that because we have these great tools that at our disposal now, we can uncover this history and tell a new story about words and phrases that might be familiar with us but we really dont know where they come from, until we sort of do this detective work.
MONTAGNE: Thank you very much for joining us.
Mr. ZIMMER: Oh, thanks so much for having me.
MONTAGNE: And, you know, all the best of luck on taking over the column "On Language" in "The New York Times Magazine."
Mr. ZIMMER: Great, thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
