Isaac Kaufmann Funk became a book publisher and printer in 1876. Through several generations, the Funk family has managed to leave an indelible mark on the “word business.”
Isaac Funk and his business partner Adam Willis Wagnalls would form Funk & Wagnalls Company in 1890. Early on, important Funk & Wagnalls’ publications included dictionaries and encyclopedias.
Later, the company branched out to produce newspapers, magazines, digests and other assorted periodicals.
Wilfred John Funk, Isaac’s son took over as company president in 1925. He took dual role as a lexicologist and writer of poetry quite seriously.
Historian Kendra Turner
said that Wilfred Funk “not only made a living with words, he played with
words, rearranged them, relished them.”
In 1932, Wilfred Funk promoted his company’s new dictionary by publishing “a list of the 10 most beautiful words in the English language, having regard for both sound and meaning.”
His picks were: “dawn,
hush, lullaby, murmuring, tranquil, mist, luminous, chimes, golden, melody.”
A full 90 years later, Funk’s list is still generating commentary. A contemporary texter replied: “Wow...this list makes me want to relax to the tranquil melody of the wind chimes’ lullaby as I stretch out next to a murmuring stream and watch the luminous, golden sunshine through the waterfall’s mist at dawn. (9 out of 10 ain’t bad; lol).”
An easy “edit” would be to delete “Wow” and insert “Hush child….”
Here’s a quick collection of 10 more common words that readers have suggested over the decades: “wistful, pastoral, shampoo, effervescence, aurora, serendipity, whimsical, bubble, eloquent, grit.”
In 1934, Funk listed the “10 modern Americans who have done most to keep American jargon alive,” opening up a separate realm for public discussion and debate. From Funk’s perspective, “American jargon” was akin to “slang,”
He chose a bunch of guys who made waves in the entertainment and news industries, for the most part. They were: Sime Silverman, H. L. Mencken, Tad Dorgan, Walter Winchell, Arthur “Bugs” Baer, Ring Lardner, Damon Runyon, Gelett Burgess, George Ade and Gene Buck.
In 1940, Funk resigned as
president of Funk & Wagnalls to start Wilfred Funk, Inc., a book publishing
firm. Funk was best known for his books and articles on vocabulary improvement
and etymology.
“His work,” TIME Magazine
observed, “made the entire nation self-conscious about its vocabulary,” and he
was “a tireless missionary for the English language. He viewed the language as
living and evolving, formed by everyday usage.”
From 1945 until his retirement in 1962, Funk wrote a popular Reader’s Digest monthly feature, “It Pays to Increase Your Word Power.” It was one of the most popular features in the magazine.
Wilfred’s son, Peter Van
Keuren Funk, also a novelist, publisher and wordsmith, took over responsibility
for the column in 1962. Peter’s work continued to be featured in each issue of
the magazine into 1998.
“Whenever we learn a new word,” Peter said, “it is not just dumped into our ‘mental dictionary.’ Our brain creates neural connections between the new word and others relevant to our interests.”
One noteworthy contemporary logophile (lover of words) is Jeanne Matthews, an American novelist. She said: “Every time I visit Great Britain, I come home with an expanded vocabulary.”
Matthews wrote that a
newspaper “editorialist described the House of Lords as a ‘worm farm of
claret-gargling…quangocrats.’” That’s a bit of an acronym for quasi-autonomous,
non-governmental bureaucrats.
In Matthews’ mind: “A writer’s
vocabulary is her toolbox, and a reader’s vocabulary is his key to reading
comprehension.”
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