Another year greets us. As a family, we marked the change in calendar by trying (unsuccessfully) to watch all 6 of the Star Wars movies without a break. This was my daughter’s whim. Some time after midnight, half way through episode IV, I looked over and saw my daughter asleep on the couch. My son had left to chat with friends online, and my wife had disappeared for bed. And so I woke my daughter and sent her to bed, switched off the TV, and joined my wife. Sounds boring, doesn’t it? I must be maturing, or just growing dull at the edges.
It doesn’t seem long ago that we went up north to a friend’s cottage (all of us still without children), and we greeted the new year by going down to the water’s edge, breaking a hole through the ice, and jumping in—in retrospect, probably a stupid thing to do, but not something we are likely ever to forget.
The new year is also a time for reflection—looking back upon the previous year and noting the important events which have occurred during that time; then looking forward and perhaps resolving to make changes. This year, I’m not so inclined. We all can name events of international importance: natural disasters, military and political incidents, discoveries and milestones. The world keeps turning …
Instead, I would like to mark the passage of time by noting some linguistic events, and what better linguistic genius to consult than George W. Bush. In addition to his legendary Bushisms (itself a neologism meaning something like “blundering non-sequitur”), Bush is credited with notable contributions to the English (or at least American) dictionary: 1) misunderestimate; & 2) embetterment.
I await with considerable anticipation the Jan. 6th annual meeting of the American Dialect Society in Albuquerque, New Mexico when it will select a word of the year for 2005. Previous selections in various categories include:
pajamahadeen — (Most Creative, 2004) — bloggers who challenge and fact-check traditional media
metrosexual — (Word of the Year, 2003) — fashion-conscious heterosexual male
pre—emptive self-defense — (Most Euphemistic, 2003) — attack before a possible attack on oneself
blog — (Most Likely to Succeed, 2002) — a website of personal events, comments, and links
google — (Most Useful, 2002) — to search the Web using the search engine Google for information on a person or thing.
Check out the following pdf from the American Dialect Society for a complete list.
Another reliable source for neologisms is technological jargon. Check out the links below for samples from “Jargon Watch,” a monthly featurette in Wired Magazine:
I would treat “Jargon Watch” with caution for two reasons: 1) it tends to focus on phrases which are more faddish whereas the American Dialect Society seeks out expressions most likely to become embedded in everyday speech; & 2) the deadline demands of a monthly featurette produce a strong incentive to be creative. For example, the word “yeppies” (young experimenting perfection seekers) seems a bit contrived.
But with two teenagers, I face more serious linguistic challenges than those posed by politicians or geeks. And so pbs has produced a lexicon that parents might find useful. Just click on the teen/youth link. However, as I have discovered when speaking with my teens, a lexicon is not enough. Even if I know what a word means (which is typically the opposite of its apparent meaning), the linguistic rules for correct usage do not count. I can understand its meaning, it’s syntactical value, its nuances, its accent, cadence, emphasis … and still, I will never use the word correctly. For teens, what matters most is who uses the word. I realized this when I tried to use the word “burn” after my daughter had given a good comeback to my son’s nasty remarks. My daughter turned to me and said: “You can”t say that; you’re so embarrassing.”