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