Nice Twist

The legendary George Carlin made a career out ofa 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 whatzeitgeist. (That's German for 'trendy;' conservatives
they're 'actually' saying ...find foreign phrases acceptable as 'pop'
He would ask wonderfully rhetorical questions, mycondescensions.) 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, butdictionary 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 toThis gives rise to 'alternative' reference sources.
the use of the English language. The conservativeOne of the more interesting of these today is the
view is that its integrity must be maintained, perhapsUrban Dictionary. It's the brainchild of Aaron Peckham,
grudgingly at times. The liberal view is that, in order toa student at (where else?) Cal Poly. He saw a need to
be a lively, vibrant language, it needs to adapt to thecatalog, define and post today's slang for the benefit
times. Of course, there's also my view, which is thatof 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 instancethe exponential growth of cyberspace.
where it can be argued that 'ghoti' is a homonym ofThe 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;' andsubmissions 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 ofsubmissions there, from emoticons to phrases.
letter combinations and the sounds they represent inIf you've 'gone 404' --- a reference for the online error
English is a result of dialectical isolation over manymessage 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 moreconcentrating on your electronic device, such as a
geographically 'compact' languages such as SwedishPDA, 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 dophone 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,' whichyear. He now utilizes the services of volunteer editors
means 'ignorant.' So, the phrase 'nice man' would haveto keep his site up-to-date. It's fair to say that the
been referring to an idiot in the 1400s. However, by theUrban Dictionary has become a reliable reference for
1600s, the word had turned. A 'nice man' then meantcoping 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 recognizedparents trying to understand their kids, for language
in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as such --- whichlearners 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 thequite useful. In fact, I'd even go so far to say that he's
deed on 'nice,' but their modern-day progeny are alivedone a very nice job with it. Very nice, indeed. In a sick
and well today, turning the street meaning of 'sick' intosort of way, of course.