New words are added to the English language all of the time. They may be engineered to describe new technology, migrate from other languages or cultivate from slang. They may even be current words used with new meaning.
Think of language as a living organism (or for techies out there—think of a wiki), with people having the ability to make changes to it. People can bring new words into being by using them in conversation, songs, blogs, etc. They can also submit words for inclusion in dictionaries like Merriam-Webster or Urban Dictionary.
"As soon as we see the word used without explanation or translation or gloss, we consider it a naturalized citizen of the English language," said Peter Sokolowski, an editor-at-large for Merriam-Webster in a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Last year saw words like friendiligence, bromance and blamestorming. New Words for 2008 took a look at these words and how they came to be, but now it is time for an update.
Official New Words to Use in 2009
To freshen up your vocabulary, here are some words recently added to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.
Fanboy: a superfan of a comic or film genre, as in: He is a fanboy of all the original Batman comics.
Mondegreen: a word or phrase that results from a mishearing of something said or sung. In his book, “’Scuse Me While I Kiss This Guy,” by (Fireside Publishing, 1995), author Gavin Kalb lists a number of commonly misheard song phrases, such as “Sweet dreams are made of cheese” instead of the accurate “Sweet dreams are made of these”, by the Eurythmics or “I want to rock and roll all night and part of every day,” instead of the real Kiss lyrics: “I want to rock and roll all night and party every day.”
Webinar: an online conference (web+seminar), as in “I am attending a webinar for freelance copywriters.”
Obviously, some of these words have been around for a while, but have only recently gained the respect of being in the dictionary.
Even Newer Words for 2009
For those on the cutting edge, here are some new phrases from Urbandictionary.com that haven’t yet hit the official book:
Christmas bogus: receiving nothing from an employer at Christmas. “All I got from my boss was a “Merry Christmas and a Christmas bogus!”
Virtual Friday: the last day of work or school due to an extended weekend. “With Christmas Eve falling on a Wednesday this year, Tuesday was my virtual Friday.”
Word of the Year?
Which word best expressed the events of the past year? The American Dialect Association will announce its selection for 2008 Word of the Year in January. Selections are based on words that were new or newly popular, prominent, or reflective of our popular conversations. Not surprisingly, many of the front runners are related to the political and financial scene, including: change, bailout, maverick, and vetting.
Laying Old Words to Rest
As you take on new words, it may be time to retire the overused ones. Lake Superior State University produced their annual “List of Words to be Banished from the Queen’s English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness.” Interestingly, some of the entries are also on the list for word of the year. Among the 15 entries: green, carbon footprint, maverick, bailout, icon, staycation and Wall Street/Main Street.
Whether you want to be a maverick or some other kind of icon, vet these new words, learn some new ones, and don't bailout on making a change in your vocabulary.
Pamela DeLoatch - Four kids, three schools, a bazillion sports, a growing writing career, a messy house and 90,000 miles on my four-year-old van. Need I say ...
