We human beings belong to a species that uses language: Homo loquens. Of the several subspecies of our kind, Jean Aitchison's book treats two, whom we might dub Homornfamas loquens (the human who talks about reports or rumours) and Homo litterarum monumenta loquens (the human who talks about literature). She has much more poetic terms for these categories. Humans generally are 'word weavers'; more specifically, reporters are 'newshounds' and litterateurs are 'wordsmiths'. The first are despised and the second admired, at least in the opinion of the chattering classes. Aitchison's thesis is that newshounds and wordsmiths are much alike in the techniques they use and in their importance for culture and society. Her development of that thesis is no disinterested or dispassionate analysis; rather, it is a witty, sardonic and highly focused argument. She is, after all, the first Rupert Murdoch Professor of Language and Communication at Oxford, in which role she was 'paid to read and analyse newspapers and other media' (xii). She is also an experienced word weaver herself.
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机译：我们人类属于一个使用语言的物种：人族。在我们的几个亚种中，让·艾奇森（Jean Aitchison）的书治疗了两个亚种，我们可能会把它们称为Homornfamas loquens（谈论报告或谣言的人）和Homo litterarum Monumenta loquens（谈论文学的人）。对于这些类别，她有更多诗意的用语。人类通常是“织词者”；更具体地说，记者是“新闻报导”，文学家是“词匠”。至少在闲聊阶级看来，第一个被鄙视，第二个被钦佩。 Aitchison的论点是，新手和词匠在使用的技术以及对文化和社会的重要性方面非常相似。她对该论文的发展并不是无私或无情的分析。相反，这是一个机智，讽刺和高度集中的论点。毕竟，她是牛津大学第一任鲁珀特·默多克（Rupert Murdoch）语言和传播学教授，在该职位上，她“获得报酬来阅读和分析报纸和其他媒体”（xii）。她自己也是一位经验丰富的词织工。
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