The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-03-27
Today S Science
by DAVID DIETZ-

TINE time has come, according to Prof Edward l..
Il Thorndike, famous psychologist of Teachers Col
lege Columbia University and president Of the
American Association for the Advancement Of
Science for scientists to take hand in shaping and
directing the development of the English language
He thinks it particularly important for philoogists
and other students of the science of language to
take hand
Language" Prof Thorndike says, SIS our most
important social tool. 1t is more important than
the pillow or the derrick any other machine.
I'VE can improve upon our words and an improve
ment there is just as useful invention an i'm
provement in an automobile or radio or printing
press"
Prof Thorndike is of the opinion that scientists
have missed their opportunity in this direction in
the past For example. Prof. Thorndke points out
scientists wanted to say "aeropane" making it a
word of Syllabes. The in the street insisted
on saying "airplane."
Today" he adds "airplane is accepted right
and it is a much better word"
CCIENTISTS did tp-top job in the invention Of
- one word, Prof. Thorndike says. It was gas"
THE word was simple, short, easy to distinguish
from other words and pronounced the same in prac-
tically every European language" he says. Until
Americans shortened gasoline to gas it had only
meaning.
ITO see what good invention it was one need
only compare it with the word electricity, long,
involved, and cumbersome word"
But Prof Thorndike raises a word of caution
about this business of improving the language.
1T must be undertaken by experts and with great
care he says otherwise may find ourselves
in the position of the biologist who kills off some bug
that has been damaging the crops only to find that
this bug formerly ate another which in turn becomes
a worst pest"
Words have been chief study Of Prof. Thorndike.
Just another scientist might study the prevalence
distribution of starsh mayies or double stars,
he has spent his time in tracking down words.
DROF. Thorndike and his assistants have counted
L more than 100000 words in the last quarter
of a century They have counted the number of
words-that is the number of times each word oc-
curs-in the Bible, the works Of Shakespeare, other
classics, school books, Juvenile books magazines,
newspapers political speeches, and SO
This led in 1921 to the publication of Prof. Thorn
dikes famous Teachers Word List of 10000 Words"
This list now an indispensable tool of all writer's Of
juvenile textbooks, classified these words according
their frequency giving the 10000 words which
used the most
Subsequently, it occurred to DR.. Michael West,
then head of school in India to rewrte The Count
of Monte Cristo using only about 1900 words His stu
dents read it with so much ease and liked it much
that the typewriter copies which he had prepared
were literally This was probably the first
book written with scientifically restricted vocabu-
larry.
DR. Laurence Facet who formerly taught in Pekin.
China is preparing books in similar fashion for
ne use of foreign students learning English Text
-)oks in French German, Spanish and Italian are
also being prepared on the basis Of the SCIENTIFIC
knowledge Of the relative importance OF words