A Brave New Word - The Grammar-Us Blog - Grammar-Us

I’m not ashamed to say it: I LOVE words!!! There is nothing more fulfilling to me than starting with a blank piece of paper or computer screen, carefully mixing and matching words upon it, and ending up with a snapshot of a moment in my life, a word painting of a story from my imagination, or a how-to piece to help others learn the fine art and craft of writing.

Language is a living thing that evolves over the years. As proof of this, you need only take a look at Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales” or the King James Version of the Bible, and you can readily see how the English language has morphed over time. Just as we may have difficulty today reading “The Miller’s Tale” in its original Middle English, so might Chaucer’s contemporaries feel lost if they had the opportunity to read one of today’s bestsellers or overhear a typical 2014 conversation!

Did you know that many countries actually have language academies? These are bodies that attempt to regulate a country’s native language, striving to maintain linguistic purism and to officiate and prescribe the meaning of words and pronunciations. I seem to recall, several years ago, that France’s Académie Française actually proposed that too many “anglicized” words were creeping into the French language, and that this practice should be stopped! Of course, the recommendations of a language academy are not strictly enforceable, but I personally find it admirable that there are academies who seek to make these efforts.

Interestingly, although my research found language academies for virtually every language from Afrikaans to Yoruba (Nigerian language), I did not locate one for English! I suppose that this means that it is up to people like me – “grammar police” – to try to educate people on proper English usage, in the hope that some of our teachings may “stick” and the language will not devolve into chaos.  

Although there does not appear to be a language academy for English, there are ways that some words and how they are used become more widely acceptable, usually though continued usage to the point where they come to the attention of such “authorities” as Webster’s Dictionary or the Oxford English Dictionary. Periodically, these venerable publications see fit to add new words to their collections. Here are a few words that have been recently added to Webster’s Dictionary. I will not provide you with their definitions; instead, I leave it to you to enjoy discovering them for yourself and adding them to your palette for future word pictures you may create.

Ginormous
Woot
Brattitude
Fauxtography
Guiltify
Selfie
Guesstimation
Mani-Pedi
Bestie
Twerk
Photobomb
Fantastical
Vape
Geotag
Meme
Upcycle