May I Have a Word With You?
I heard a radio spot this morning that stopped me, not because it was funny or well-written or used a song I like, but because it used a word I had never heard before. Organify. As in “organify your life by buying our wholesome products . . .”
Do you know why I had never heard the word before? BECAUSE IT DOESN’T EXIST!
Some copywriter made it up (using George Bush as a stylist, evidently), and now, through the magic of mass media, we’re going to be stuck with it, like it or not. Just like we’re stuck with “Staycation,” “O.M.G.,” “Infotainment,” “Murketing,” “Manscaping” and the entire, unfortunate “Yada,yada,yada” phenomonon. According to the Global Language Monitor in Austin, Texas, there’s a new word thrust upon us every 98 minutes.
They’ve been tracking words for the past five years, building up to the debut of the one-millionth english word, predicted to emerge in early 2009. That’s a whole lot of talking goin’ on. Language is fluid, and constantly evolving. I guess that’s a good thing. And inevitable. But I just saw a beer ad culminating with the word “Drinkability.” As if that strikes an emotional chord. And I heard yet another cellphone ad bragging about its “Qwerty” keyboard. As if anyone outside the telco industry has a clue what that means. My reaction when I heard that spot was to sputter “D’oh!” Which was appropriate, since “D’oh” was just added to the venerable Oxford English dictionary, along with “Foodie,” “Low-hanging fruit” and my favorite, “Riffage,” meaning to play a gnarly guitar riff. That’s some Guitar Heroism right there.
There’s no stopping us now, linguistically. Check out the Urban Dictionary and you’ll see what I mean.
I’m just glad I’m not an english major, because mastering every random “Critical Ass,” “twss,” “Moobs,” and “eargasm” reference requires a whole new level of strategery.
