The Evergrowing English Language

Hot on the heels of the announcement that a Facebook term (unfriend) has been awarded Word of the Year for 2009 by the New Oxford American Dictionary comes another recognition of social media lexicon.  The buzzword this time is "Twitter", which scooped the number one spot on the Global Language Trends list of the most popular words for 2009.  The micro blogging platform beat out competitors "Obama," "H1N1" and "Stimulus".  Although perhaps a little disturbing that a social media platform has been talked about more than global leaders, epidemics and financial collapse, the results certainly illustrate what topics have dominated conversation both on and offline during the year.

Taking fifth place, unsurprisingly was "Vampire".  I am sure I am not the only writer that takes some pleasure in seeing the rise of a cultural phenomenon caused by literature. Stephenie Meyer can be forgiven for feeling smug.

Studying the use and evolution of language is fascinating, and particularly relevant for English speakers, as the English language is one of the fastest growing in the world. This is due largely to the fact that there is no regulating body to govern it, essentially allowing new words to be adopted in mainstream media and literature as soon as they reach critical mass from spoken trends by the public.

New words are constantly being added to the English lexicon, at the astounding rate of over 14 per day!  Neologisms such as "frugly", "newbie" and "fanboy" appear to describe subtle social elements, while other terms such as "wiki" and "webinar" are created to label new technologies. As English is normally the first to coin new terms many of these words are adopted into other languages and languages such as Japanese, French and Spanish are becoming increasingly peppered with English vocabulary.

However, not all linguists are happy about the reckless speed at which the English language travels.  Lake Superior State University creates an annual "List of Words to Be Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness."  Featuring this year are "green" and "carbon footprint",  two buzzwords which have become more marketing concepts than environmental slogans as the concern about the fate of our planet has shifted from being a sensational theory to having an immediate impact on our daily lives. "Maverick" and "icon" were two more terms that were on the list, due to the fact that their overuse had completely degraded any impact that the words once had.  To these I would add words such as "guru", "expert" and "ninja" which social media specialists have turned into grandiose self-endowed titles that are rarely accompanied by any kind of justification.  What happened to earning your stripes?

Along those lines, perhaps you should think hard about how you earn the definition of writer as you apply it to yourself.  "Writer" and "blogger" are terms that are becoming dangerously over-used, to the point where some successful writers are complaining that the label no longer distinguishes between committed professionals and minimum wage earners producing copy with little quality. 

Certainly one way to ensure that you deserve to call yourself a writer is to pay attention to the language that you use.

What are your favourite new words?  What words grate on your nerves due to their over use?