There is something to be said about the English language when words like “tebowing” and the recently coined “linsanity” elicit a meaningful connotation, especially among the diehard fans in the sports arena relating to the preceding terms. While the act of “tebowing” refers to the Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow's praise to God by kneeling on one knee on the sidelines, the phenomena of “linsanity” is sweeping the nation, referring to the prominent and rising talent of the New York Knicks' Jeremy Lin, the first American-born Chinese to make it big in the NBA.
The creation of new words seems to weave itself into all arenas of life. In movies and TV, we see Elvish (Lord of the Rings), Klingon (Star Trek), and the language of wizards (Harry Potter) being invented for the new race of characters. In sports, we have the above mentioned play on the big names, Tim Tebow and Jeremy Lin. Even in Hollywood, the names of celebrity couples are lovingly morphed together, such as Brangelina (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie), Tomkat (Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes), and Bennifer (Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner). The common thread that ties these word creations together is that all of them carry a specific meaning that you pick up through hearsay.
And who can ever forget the countless “bushisms” or “Bush speak” that President Bush made popular and memorable during his term in office? According to Wikipedia.org, a Bushism is defined as “unconventional words, phrases, pronunciations, … and semantic or linguistic errors that have occurred in the public speaking of former President of the United States George W. Bush...” These -isms mostly refer to the amusing phrases or quotes that appeared during his time as President and on the campaign trail, but mispronounced words abound. Try saying the following words at normal speed: nuclear, subliminal, and Internet. Pretty easy, right? Well perhaps it's the pressure of appearing in front of the TV cameras, or maybe it's the big crowds of American citizens staring his way, but President Bush just can't seem to say these words right during live press conferences and debates. For example, he prefers to talk about the “new-kee-lar” war, the “subliminable” messages, and the Internets that seem to run all aspects of our lives.
One website that celebrates the creation of new words is unwords.com. The tagline says it all: “Changing the English language one word at a time.” If for some reason you want to impress your friends by using “new” jargon that just sound like difficult GRE words, you can refer to this website for ideas, listed A through Z. The English language is all about syllables, tone stress, vowel/consonant placement, and intonation. If you can split words into syllables, just mix and match and voila – a new language! Just make sure that people know what everything means. Or maybe you can just rehearse some Bushisms and brighten someone's day with a little laugh session.
My fascination with language creation will likely be explored in the next few posts, so stay tuned!
Posts
