What do 'lecture', 'access' and 'impact' have in common other than being words of two syllables? Answer: they are used as both nouns and verbs. But the second two shouldn't be.... or perhaps only the third one shouldn't be...... or perhaps none of them should be.
To gain access to something is to.... well, access it, I suppose. The 'gain... to' doesn't really add anything other than ink and reading time. So why not? To have an impact on something or to impact something - hm, it doesn't feel quite as right, especially not when one considers that the stress in speech has moved from the first to the second syllable. But maybe that's my age talking.
Unlike the continental European attitude whereby the meanings of words are decreed, the more practical English attitude is to define words according to how they are used by 'standard English speakers' (whatever that means in practice). The Oxford now acknowledges the legitimacy of using 'access' and 'impact' (with the shift in stress, even) as verbs. Civilisation has truly come to a vainglorious end.
Perhaps we should invent a new category for words that are making the transition from noun to dual noun/verb status. We could call them nerbs or vouns. Maybe we could have both and decide on which to categorise a word in depending on its main use. 'Access' would probably be a nerb (thanks to the computer age) while 'impact' would probably be a voun. For now, anyway.
Well worth looking up is
For a scathing but humorous commentary on directions in modern English in general, consult the BBC's Lucy Kellaway; an example of her wit is to be found at http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/25ead124-f70e-11de-9fb5-00144feab49a.html
By Barend Vlaardingerbroek
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