Do you have psychic powers


Nice Twist

The legendary George Carlin made a career outI'm not sure what 'dudes' did in the 1400s to
of calling attention to the differencedo the deed on 'nice,' but their modern-day
between how words and phrases are perceivedprogeny are alive and well today, turning the
as opposed to what they're 'actually' sayingstreet meaning of 'sick' into a synonym for
...'cool,' which was 'morphed' by earlier 'cats'
from a temperature condition to a state of
He would ask wonderfully rhetoricalzeitgeist. (That's German for 'trendy;'
questions,  my  favorite  of  which was this:conservatives find foreign phrases acceptable
as 'pop' condescensions.) Every generation
-  Would you really get on a non-stop flight?has its slang, of course. It's rare that
definitions of affected words actually evolve
And yet, that term is not only used on ainto the established vernacular, ie-
daily basis, but with a straight face everydictionary recognition, which ironically
time. How does this happen, where nonsensegives them the distinction of being defended
actually  becomes  an  understandable phrase?by conservatives as 'proper' English. Whether
that occurs or not, people of each time
There are two schools of thought when itperiod still need to understand each other.
comes to the use of the English language. TheThis gives rise to 'alternative' reference
conservative view is that its integrity mustsources.
be maintained, perhaps grudgingly at times.
The liberal view is that, in order to be aOne of the more interesting of these today is
lively, vibrant language, it needs to adaptthe Urban Dictionary. It's the brainchild of
to the times. Of course, there's also myAaron Peckham, a student at (where else?) Cal
view, which is that the English languagePoly. He saw a need to catalog, define and
defies  definition.post today's slang for the benefit of all.
His site is non-profit and its popularity has
My case could be started by citing theskyrocketed. The key reason for this has got
classic instance where it can be argued thatto  be  the exponential growth of cyberspace.
'ghoti' is a homonym of 'fish' by nature of
the  following  logic:The Urban Dictionary has become so popular,
it's now available in book form. It contains
- 'gh' sounds like 'f' in words like 'enough'a modest 2000 slang definitions. However,
and  'cough;'that's the same as the number of submissions
the website receives every day from
-  'o'  sounds  like  'i'  in  'women;'  andcontributors around the world. You'll find
over 250,000 submissions there, from
- 'ti' sounds like 'sh' in words likeemoticons  to  phrases.
'sanction'  and  'action.'
If you've 'gone 404' --- a reference for the
This is a ridiculous extreme, of course. Theonline error message displayed when a site is
evolution of letter combinations and themissing --- you're truly speaking geek. If
sounds they represent in English is a resultyou're ignoring someone by concentrating on
of dialectical isolation over many decades.your electronic device, such as a PDA, MP3 or
As universal as the language has become, thislaptop, you're 'evoiding' them. Have you ever
is a natural progression. It's also why moreaccidentally called someone because your
geographically 'compact' languages such asmobile phone is fitting too tightly in your
Swedish remain 'purer' in the logic of theirpocket? If so, you've just 'butt dialed'
pronunciation  rules.someone.
Another development of English is that, notPeckham's labor of love attracts millions of
only do sounds change over time, so dohits per year. He now utilizes the services
definitions.of volunteer editors to keep his site
up-to-date. It's fair to say that the Urban
With that in mind, let's take a 'nice' changeDictionary has become a reliable reference
of direction. 'Nice' has its origin in thefor coping with the cyber-culture. Peckham
Latin word, 'nescius,' which meanssays as much in the book's introduction,
'ignorant.' So, the phrase 'nice man' wouldcalling it "a resource for parents trying to
have been referring to an idiot in the 1400s.understand their kids, for language learners
However, by the 1600s, the word had turned. Aconfused by real-world English - but most of
'nice man' then meant that he was 'refined.'all  for  your  entertainment."
After slightly more than a century, a 'nice
man' had become 'pleasant' --- and recognizedIt is an interesting surf. As he promises, it
in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as such ---can even be quite useful. In fact, I'd even
which  stands  to  this  day.go so far to say that he's done a very nice
job with it. Very nice, indeed. In a sick
How  'sick'  is  that  for  a turn of events?sort of way, of course.



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