Prof. Metcalf in his office at MacMurray College
The American Name Society is sad to announce the passing of longtime ANS member Professor Allan Metcalf. Professor Metcalf was innovator of the American Dialect Society’s Name of the Year selection, which served as the inspiration for the ANS Name of the Year. The celebrated dialectologist served many decades as the Executive Secretary of the American Dialect Society, the sister society of the ANS. He authored numerous popular books of US American English. Two of his most recent publications are OK: The Improbable Story of America’s Greatest Word and The Life of Guy: Guy Fawkes, the Gunpowder Plot, and the Unlikely History of an Indispensable Word. The ANS expresses is sincere condolences to the Metcalf family. For more on Professor Metcalf’s impressive career, see his personal website: http://www.allanmetcalf.net