REHEATING THE "PALEOARTIST" DEBATE

[Brian Franczak <franczak@ntplx.net>]

I've been away for the last couple of weeks and am just catching up on
my email. Sorry if this subject seems a bit moldy, but I felt a need to
respond to the last post. 

Considering Rich Penney's comments in support of the (IMO ludicrous)
term "paleoartist" to be unfounded, I did what any good researcher does
and consulted with an authority. Rob Kyff teaches English in West
Hartford, Connecticut, and writes a regular column about words and
language for The Hartford Courant. When I presented both my comments and
Mr. Penney's to him, here's what he had to say... 
 
> Thanks for your question about "paleoartist" and I apologize for the > delay 
> in responding. Boy, you guys sure looked at this one from     > every angle! 
> I don't think "paleoartist," while cute, is a good term > to use. Here's why: 
> It could cause confusion. Because "paleo" does  > indeed mean "ancient," it 
> would be logical to call the people who   > first painted (such as those who 
> did the French cave paintings)     > "paleoartists," though I've never heard 
> the term. Why pick a term to > describe people who draw dinosaurs that might 
> be confused with      > another group of artists? 

It goes beyond mere confusion, however. Re: Mr. Penney's observation, a
biologist is someone who studies life; it logically follows that a 
*paleobiologist* is someone who studies *ancient* life. By the strict
Webster's definition, an artist is "a person who is skilled in the fine
arts, esp. in painting, sculpture, etc."; a "paleoartist", therefore,
would be "a person who is skilled in the *ancient* fine arts". Again,
what exactly does this mean? IMO, nothing; it is still a nonsense word. 

Of course, I don't necessarily expect anyone to agree with me. If Mr.
Penney or anyone else chooses to continue to call themselves a
"paleoartist", hey, more power to 'em. To take this subject *too*
seriously would be ridiculous. But I'm as interested in words and
language as I am in dinosaurs, and I just felt compelled to let loose
one last shot. 

This is, after all, just my opinion, and of course I could be wrong.

Brian Franczak
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Launchpad/2045/