Modernization. Ferguson (1968, p. 32) considers the modernization of a
language as being "the process of its becoming the equal of other developed
languages as a medium of communication; ... " and sees "the expansion of
the lexicon" as an important aspect in this process. With respect to the
expansion of the lexicon it would appear that one positive aspect of language
decline is that it sometimes encourages laymen to write dictionaries in order
to preserve the diminishing vocabulary and in a valiant effort to produce
i- new terms for the modern world. There is perhaps the belief that a dictionary
~- is a language's redemption. Bendsen ( 1860), for example writes with respect
to North Frisian: