The Linguist’s Calendar: December 6

Mary

December 6

Declared “Plain English Day” by the “Plain English Network,” a British group which aims to improve communication from the government to the public.
 
1868: Death of August Schleicher, the man behind the Stammbaumtheorie.
 
1877: The first sound recording of human language is made, as Thomas Alva Edison recites ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ into his phonograph.
 
1995: Press Secretary Mike McCurry in a White House Press Briefing uses an exceptionally long word: flocci­nau­cini­hili­pili­fi­ca­tion.