[from http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Linguistics/armynavy.html, with a nice coda.]
Language in Society 26:3 (1997), p.469 by WB -- William Bright
"A LANGUAGE IS A DIALECT WITH AN ARMY AND A NAVY."
This saying, long part of oral tradition among sociolinguists, was quoted in a review by Alan Kaye in _LiS_ 26:484 (1996). In his manuscript, Kaye had attributed the quote to Max Weinreich; the editor of this journal changed the attribution to Uriel Weinreich [from whom I first heard it in 1957 -- WB]. However, it has also been attributed to Joshua Fishman. Recent e-mail correspondence involving Christina Paulston and Ellen Prince, as well as Kaye and Fishman, has brought out the following points:
(a) Some scholars believe that the saying is an expansion of a quote from Antoine Meillet, to the effect that a language is a dialect with an army.
Up to now the source has not been found in the works of Meillet. Can any readers provide information on this?
YES HERE IT IS FOUND and scanned by Source
(b) The earliest documentation of the saying is in a publication in Yiddish by Max Weinreich. The following is a translation (by Ellen Prince) of a posting on "Mendele", a Yiddish e-mail list, by Yoshua Fishman on Oct. 28, 1996:
Avrohom Novershtern (Jerusalem) found for me the source of Max Weinreich's saying that _A shprakh iz a diyalekt mit an armey un a flot_ ['A language is a dialect with an army and a navy.'] This is found in Weinreich's "YIVO and the problems of our time," _Yivo-bleter_, 1945, vol. 25, no. 1, p. 13.
Weinreich attributes this formulation to a young man who came to his lectures, and he decided, "I must bring to a large audience this wonderful formulation of the social fate of Yiddish." Congratulations to our good friend Novershtern and to all Mendele-subscribers who helped look for the largely forgotten source of a famous saying that is relevant to Yiddish and to all "one-down" languages.
(c) Joshua Fishman believes that he may have been the young man who, as a student of Max Weinreich, originated the saying. It is clear, in any case, that the dictum derives from the tradition of Yiddish linguistics, and that it was made familiar by the Weinreichs and by Fishman. Further information from readers will be welcome. [end of quote]
From: Cary Karp Director of Internet Strategy and Technology, Swedish Museum of Natural History 9/05
"The attribution of the army-navy statement to Joshua Fishman is unlikely to be correct. In his 1945 article, Max Weinreich says that his informant immigrated to the USA as a child. Since Prof. Fishman was born there, he does not fit that part of the description. He was also no older than 18 at the time and in school elsewhere, thus not likely to be a teacher at a Bronx high school. Finally, the unnamed source of the saying knew little about the history and linguistic status of Yiddish. Joshua Fishman's knowledge of both was already significant."
What is the Difference Between Information and Propaganda? -
Answer . . .
Military's Information War Is Vast and Often Secretive By JEFF GERTH
The media center in Fayetteville, N.C., would be the envy of any global communications company.
In state of the art studios, producers prepare the daily mix of music and news for the group's radio stations or spots for friendly television outlets. Writers putting out newspapers and magazines in Baghdad and Kabul converse via teleconferences. Mobile trailers with high-tech gear are parked outside, ready for the next crisis. The center is not part of a news organization, but a military operation, and those writers and producers are soldiers. The 1,200-strong psychological operations unit based at Fort Bragg turns out what its officers call "truthful messages" to support the United States government's objectives, though its commander acknowledges that those stories are one-sided and their American sponsorship is hidden.
"We call our stuff information and the enemy's propaganda," said Col. Jack N. Summe, then the commander of the Fourth Psychological Operations Group, during a tour in June. Even in the Pentagon, "some public affairs professionals see us unfavorably," and inaccurately, he said, as "lying, dirty tricksters." -- Jim Devine / Bust Big Brother Bush!
"To be positive: To be mistaken at the top of one's voice." -- Ambrose Bierce, Devil's Dictionary.