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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 2, 1980)
Page 8 THE BATTALION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1980 World Experts predict higher gas prices in ’81 as trend abides Slang not bad, Oxford don says United Press International this month because of continued Cut- LOS ANGELES The new year backs in refinery operations, the will bring higher gas prices and dimi- newsletter reported Saturday, nished gasoline supplies, a trend ex- “With the glut relieved, much of pected to continue through 1981, the the reason for wholesale price cut- Lundberg Letter predicts. fj n g W ould be gone, ” newsletter Edi- Gasoline surpluses should decline tor-in-Chief Mark Emond said. WE BUY BOOKS EVERY DAY! And remember we give 20% more in trade for used books. LOUPOrS BOOKSTORE Northgate - Across from the Post Office Extra Income Opportunity Looking lor an easy way to earn some extra money? Turn your spare time into cash by submitting names lor mailing list ol persons potentially qualilied ti fill position openings with our member corporations. Receive generous appreciation bonuses. For details, fill out and return coupon. Current and expected crude and other cost increases should add IVz cents to 2 cents a gallon per month to petroleum product prices on the av erage for the next 12 months, the newsletter said. This would make the current 1 $1.21 per gallon something like $ 1.40 to $ 1.45 per gallon by Decem ber 1981. But that is based on a conservative hike in world crude oil prices. “It’s based on the premise of about a $3 per barrel increase — from $37 to $40 per barrel — in the official Orga nization of Petroleum Exporting Countries price early next year, and no further tightening of world crude supplies,’’ Emond said. “Any indication of limited gasoline supplies could bring this slide to an end,” the newsletter said. ' Retail gasoline prices began level ing off last April and have been fall ing since July, but in November they turned around. The combined U.S. retail gasoline price of all grades, full and self-serve, inched up to 121.39 per gallon in November, up from 121.37 in October. ‘American’ is good English 1 am interested in learning more about your The Bonus Referral Plan, Inc. extra income opportunity. Please turnish me P.O. Box 19722, Dept. P-2 with all the details. Dallas, Texas 75219 j Please Type or Print Legibly | Name _ . . | Address . „ „ - - | | City __ Slate Zip _ | 1 College or University . Name ot Publication in Which ■ This Ad Appeared j Make /UJ" HAPPY COTTAGE • * GIFT SHOPPE your gift headquarters for Christmas Music Boxes (over 250 selections) Silk Flower ArrangementsA Fashion Jewelry 10-5:30. Sat. 10-5 809 29th I Appearing IJVI3 Wednesday & Thursday STEVE- FROMHOLZ! rv: 4410 College Main S46-S438 United Press International NEW YORK — This slang-slinging persecutor of grammar took the assignment with trepidation — “a state of fear and anxiety, nervous agitation, ” the dictionary says. Interview Robert Burchfield. He’s a don — we call them professors — at Oxford, teaches English there. He lectures on the language. He’s chief editor of the Oxford Dictionaries, all of them. He has lots of honors, letters after his name, like that. This man has been adding words to the Oxford English Dictionary, that 12-volume work of works with 15,000 pages. It took 44 years to put together — 1884-1928. You’d think 400,000-odd words was enough. No. This Burchfield got asked to do a little supplement. Bring it up to date, they said. Might take 7 years, they thought. He has to make a big thing of it. Now the supplement is going to take four volumes — not little ones, either. It isn’t even finished. “I missed my deadline by 21 years,” he jokes. He got the first part done in 1972, 17,500 words, 1,350 pages. It got him up thru G. Then came H to N in ’76. He plans to get into S, maybe next year. He hopes to finish off the alphabet and supplement in 1984. At 57, he figures he can get a new dictionary started in four years, then retire — to a really big project. “You have only been commissioned to do a short, little book,” his wife, Elizabeth, says. It is a loving reproach. “Call me Bob,” he says. He’s trying to make things easy. The eyes can be piercing. Between loads of white hair that frizzles and bundles about the ears, they also twinkle a lot. It is a visage his Oxford grads must adore. And he’s not all that English, a New Zealander, bom and reared. He points that out. He was in town on a U. S. speaking tour remark ably coincident with the publication of the new Oxford American Dictionary. But banish any ‘ You (Americans) have a vague ancestral feeling that somewhere outside, there is proper English. American is proper. It is as proper as anywhere else. ” Dictionary, compiled under his i mostly by American editors on contract'll By J 1 always been interested in what words arc (■'. Bi to the United States.” And theydoiiicl«i®xas Sou He rejoices in finding a few: “Of course, you know fungo.” Of course, we did not. “A fly ball hit by a batter who has tl ball into the air for hitting,” it says so in lit as distinguished from the OED whichhelaj supplementing these many years. ng sen: i” Kelly, Jit to t: Aggie lly, th< er of a y !T game a r attack here or thought he has bad things to say about American English. „ “You (Americans) have a vague ancestral feel ing that somewhere outside, there is proper En glish. American is proper.” He says it with a vehemence one tends to believe. “It is as proper as anywhere else.” Besides, he concedes, “there are more Amer ican speakers than any other.” “Yours is a new kind of English with an identity and independence all its own,” he says. “If you fail to produce great writers, then start worrying about the language. But we have good writers today. Language in the right hands can still be used with all the force it ever has. Writing now tends more to reflect spoken En glish. It is conversational. The TV age is a reason. “The world is not coming to an end because the language is informal,” he has concluded. “It still has that power.” But what, perish the thought, of slang? “I really don’t think there is too much slang here.” When slang stops being slang and starts being part of the language is an ephemeral thing, he says. Ephemeral — lasting only a short time, the dictionary says. He has just seen the new Oxford American e is as | htry,” sa is about ut the jiidentica Proudly, he notes, “funky is in ttii of the supplement,” published in 1 The GAD, he says, “seems just a ary.” But he likes it’s brief definitions. “I go waffling on.” He knows about thal lliti goes into great detail defining things. Unlike most dictionaries, theOADtelL, use commonly misused words in sonielK^P em notes. It is usage that he’s most concerw sco He cites one: “Do not confuse climao:^ 01 ’^' 31 climatic.” The former: “of or having at The latter is the adjective of climate. “ ot 1 *' itl! Another: “Don’t use refute to mean But what if you do, we said, "What you do is you just look down you: this person. What we re saying is, a sensibility will be conservative in howhei language. “The language is changing. Butit’snolsj a battle as a skirmish. We try to identifyik where there is a difficulty. And, infill JIEW YC you’re a good chap, you’ll just wait a little feorge Rog Actually, he says, "there are silent,’! Ination s changes going on in the language all tie 4 named “Take, Til be right down or right up’ rophy, gi “That’s been in normal usage in tie JjfntownA States since 1880. It didn't happen inBriti pefootb after World War II. It is a natural, ordiijlefensive velopment of an Anglo-Saxon word.' ttsburgh : Ithman n rofGe 0 United Polish leaders end meeting toM United Press International WARSAW, Poland — The Polish Communist Party Central Commit tee convened Monday in a two-day meeting expected to involve an ex- Meet me at the Christmas Fair. Call 846-4360 before Thursday and we’ll bring your order to the fair! 3609 Place E. 29th Bryan PRIOHITEAS amination of the economic and poli tical crises resulting from the sum mer labor revolt — and a possible high-level purge. Political sources said the party politburo met in extended session Monday and the plenary session could begin later in the afternoon. At the same time, Stefan Brat- kowski, head of the Polish Journalists Association, wrote in the newspaper Zycie Warszawy, “A formula for true socialism could be used everywhere, but socialism must be a different thing in the Soviet Union’s multi national state, in the German Demo cratic Republic with its private in dustry and collectivized agriculture, and also it is different in Hungary. “In every case local or national peculiarities must be taken into account.” he said. “I also think that our socialism, while convergent in principles with those of our neighbors and friends, must be a flower from our own soil. ” He listed five principles which should be considered in cultivating Polish socialism. These included ig of 1,( casters rs, the I er to v stplac :n got 1 1 poin st plac lunding rs were Herrin ierback Nebi idwine, y Easle ir Antho E-Systems continues the tradition of the world’s great problem solvers. Sun Theatres 333 University 846-! 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Wednesday Special 3 3 69 Monterey *399 Dinner REG. 4.55 TESTA Dinner REG. 4.15 Enchilada *‘$89 Dinner 2 RE0 3.35 (me RESTAURANTS 1816 Texas Avenue 823-8930 907 Highway 30 693-2484 allowing Polish Communists lieve in God not to hide gious feelings, making sure party bears in mind socialist: as communist traditions and it a “partnership” kindot He also said that a class property owners should kij nized, and law should priority in the social system ■ 'I’jarte The agenda for the ses«™ anc * eludes reports on the poll economic situation, as the months of labor upheavi debate and what was tend nizational” matters indicate, personnel changes. On the eve of the sessin Warsaw regional office of tit pendent union, Solidarity,api to its members for order to spi reconstruction of the ecoifl also pledged not to distribute! or posters in the capital. A high-ranking party officii ing Saturday in the officialp: Trybuna Ludu, forecasta extremists from both ends line and liberal — as well astt elements. In the weeks preceding tin num, dozens of local party afi tions were purged. The Central Committee« was reported to have beei poned at least twice to avoid 1 it during severe labor tensi® also, apparently, to enable munist Party leader Stanislas to marshal his forces. The plenum will show b ( has succeeded in getting a ? the party and in running the# since the end of the massive s® strike, which saw the birth« independent Solidarity hi Kania’s predecessor, Ed Gierek, was ousted after thee the August strike. Sunday, the Solidarity l’ which last week brought the; P to the brink ofone of its most Ji | ous labor-state crisis by threatei | general strike in the Waisaf P appealed for a period ofcalnib | construction of the econ®) | perpetuatuation of achievem® Texas State o PTlCAli Prescriptions Filled Glasses Repaired 216 N. 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