If you know how to read, you're probably pretty good at recognizing words. But, new words like "egg corn," "crema" and "slendro" are challenging our concept of what makes a word. Yet these very words were recently added to Merriam-Webster's unabridged online dictionary.
How do you feel about "gafftermath," "indamnify" and "saddict," neologisms that bring a laugh of recognition to behaviors that otherwise have no name, but are hardly a part of the existing lexicon.
And what happens when we ignore existing words to make new ones that make no sense. Yes, I'm talking about legalese, buzzwords and corporate speak. Is this an actionable item or a deliverable product? I'm so confused.
In fact, about 150 new words were added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary in 2014, many reflecting pop culture popularized through internet communication. We can now legitimately crowdfund a project, hashtag a Tweet and listen to dubstep - thanks to the authority bestowed by one of our oldest and most respected dictionaries.
It's great to have all these new words right? They expand our world, name things that have no name, convey a shared experience. Shouldn't our language reflect our culture? It all depends on what you think makes a word a word and whether you believe the dictionary should be a record of all words or a standard for our language.
Are our words keeping up with the world in which we live?
GUESTS:
- Lizzie Skurnick - Author of That Should Be a Word
- Peter Sokolowski - Lexicographer and Editor-at-Large, Merriam Webster
- Geoffrey Nunberg- Linguist at UC Berkeley School of Information, Chair Emeritus of the usage panel for American Heritage Dictionary and a regular contributor for NPR’s Fresh Air. He's the author of Ascent of the A-Word
- Kristin Comeforo - Assistant professor of Communication, University of Hartford
You can join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.
Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired on June 9th, 2015.
