What's wrong with new words? Thursday January 7, 2010
Are new words the convenience food of language? It’s what comedian David Mitchell implies in a recent Guardian article. He explains he’s against novelty in language. For him, new linguistic arrivals such as ‘staycation’ and ‘unfriend’ are unwelcome visitors within the tradition of written and spoken English. There’s no doubt that many of these new words lack grace. Some are positively clumsy. Many of the most hated words are new members of the language family. But they are convenient, conflating meaning and context as they do. So are they something to be avoided or a quick, easy way to say what you mean? Copywriting aims to get the message across as quickly and as memorably as possible. But it is also about making that message interesting and relevant. And this means being selective. Not shoehorning in the fancy word for the sake of it or opting for the convenience phrase because it’s easy. But finding the right way to say what needs to be said and making it appealing. After all, people have always responded to words and the meaning they create. It’s the oldest tradition of them all.
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I think the addition, and indeed the adoption, of new words into common language use is an evolutionary and very natural process – shoehorning new words and phrases into communication will cause audiences to react like the body expelling a foreign body.
Technology plays a big part in introducing new members to our language: “texting” someone a message or “Googling” something wouldn’t mean anything to anyone a decade ago, but these are now widely used – and accepted – terms.
— Paul Gordon Jan 7, 10:13 AM #
I used to work with someone who was forever muddling and mixing up words. When she described another person as “distruptive”, I asked “Do you mean disruptive or destructive?” She said, “Yes.” Which, as it happened, was fair enough. I quite like the word; now I’ve remembered it I might start putting it into use and see if it takes off.
— Francine Pickering Jan 7, 06:51 PM #