by Jacqueline Alexander
When is a word not a word? Earlier this year, the Global Language Monitor announced that the English language had reached an important milestone as it crossed the threshold of 1,000,000 words.
Just a few weeks later and this measurement has already gathered another 573 words. These figures are disputed by many linguists and etymologists and when you learn that the 1,000,000th word recorded was 'Web 2.0' their scepticism is understandable. Surely 'Web 2.0' is not even a word - it's a phrase to describe the second generation of web development and web design technologies.
Closer to home, the Oxford English Dictionary has over 600,000 definitions but this includes both the archaic and the obsolete. Identifying how many words there are in a language is fraught with difficulty. Although we can estimate how many words are, or will be, in use, providing a definitive number is almost impossible as language constantly evolves to reflect a changing world.
Today, apparently, it is possible to defriend someone. This is the latest term to be welcomed into the lexi-family as members of online social networks such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo dump their former friends from the virtual world.
In print, the OED's most recent additions include abdominoplasty (a surgical operation involving the removal of excess flesh from the abdomen and aerobicised (toned by aerobic exercise) and these are not reserved only for the Hollywood edition.
As new words appear, others fade into obscurity. Some words will become obsolete in the coming years and the experts tell us, somewhat surprisingly that throw, stab and guts are heading for an uncertain future. We are told that these only have a shelf life of approximately 800 years whilst the stoic three, five and who will be around for over 10,000 years.
Everyone has the right to make up a word and no-one has exercised this right more than the Washington Post. Each year, for ten years, their feature, Mensa Invitational, asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.
Over the ten years, the feature became increasingly popular and, today, online, it has become something of a phenomenon. More and more websites are reporting the results of the annual challenge with mental gymnasts proving the old adage 'practice makes perfect'.
One such site, News to Amuse, reports the results from the latest competition – some of the following highlights are slightly edited to protect those of a delicate nature but the remaining examples are quite ingenious:
Cashtration: The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.
Ignoranus: A person who is both stupid and an (bleep).
Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realise it was your money to start with.
Bozone: The substance surrounding stupid people.
Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high
Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
Decafalon: The gruelling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
It is not clear if any of the above will make it into the Oxford English Dictionary, even if the Global Language Monitor welcomes them with open arms, but it is clear that there is a challenge in the air.
The most recent results from the Washington Post seem to date from 2005/06 so it is time to reinstate the competition and invite you to contribute.
We want to hear your ideas for new words created by taking any word from the dictionary and altering it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Just click here to submit your ideas and we’ll publish all the best ones in next week’s Henley Standard.
Can you invent a new word? Take any word from the dictionary and alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and don't forget to supply a new definition. Click here to submit your new word.
Published on 06 August 2009
|
