Three questions to Sas

Before we dive in Sas, tell us a little bit about yourself, who are you?

For starters, I am your aunt and very proud of you. Secondly, I am Professor of Language and Lexicography at the University of Oxford. And thirdly, I am originally from Australia and miss my homeland, especially swimming in the ocean.

What’s something you’ve changed your mind about recently?

DJ-ing. I had always thought of it simply as someone playing random songs that they wanted people to dance to. But a recent interview with the genius Mark Ronson showed me how intentional it is, and how the focus is entirely on the other rather than the self

Who is someone you admire, and why?

The pianist Mitsuko Uchida. She is unflinchingly disciplined and it clearly leads her to exhilarating freedom. You can see it when she performs.

What’s something you hope future generations do better than we are doing now?

I hope future generations are more forgiving than our current generation. We seem a little too ready to banish and cancel people without giving them second chances. I agree with the adage: every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.

If you had to give a TED talk tomorrow, what topic would you choose and why?

I am currently giving various talks and interviews about my latest book The Dictionary People: the unsung heroes who created the Oxford English Dictionary. Before I go on stage, I send out a wish that my words will shine a light on the thousands of people around the world in the nineteenth century who helped create the largest English dictionary in the world. They never received credit, until now.