WILLIAM SAFIRE'S “ON LANGUAGE” ESSAYS AS A RESOURCE IN AN INTRODUCTORY GEOLOGY CLASS

The “On Language” column, by William Safire, that appears in the Sunday magazine section of the New York Times can enhance and be an important resource for an introductory geology class. In as much as most introductory geology textbooks do not have the space to devote a lengthy discussion to the origin of certain terms, this author has compiled a collection of geologically relevant “on language” essays, written by William Safire, that can be used in an introductory geology class. As an example Safire's essay entitled “The Wetlands Fox” written in 1990, discusses Ground Water, wetlands, bogs, marine, marsh, uplands and drylands. He humorously notes that Francis Marion of Revolutionary war fame would now be referred to as "The Wetlands Fox" instead of “The Swamp Fox”. The essay on the “Greenhouse Effect” discusses the origin of the term as well as the term global warming. A recent essay discussed the meaning of the term Tsunami. Some featured geologic words that are also used in common parlance include erosion and transgression. As Safire states, “In a political writing, nothing beats the application of a scientific phrase to the murky art of politics”. Other essays discuss: detritus, channel, strait, groove, pre vs. re, polar, meta, morph, data vs. datum, slippery slope, stress and strain, Doppler effect, strata, El Niño, tropical rain forest, the metaphorical use of the term “exhausted volcanoes” and even the Eurasian Tectonic Plate. Furthermore, this column is better than a dictionary because it usually provides “color” and some political interpretation of the words as well as background material. This can help stimulate the intellect. Each essay in his Sunday column usually ends with a pithy clever ending.