Thursday, May 27, 2004
Convort
I made up a new word the other day: convort. Definition: to keep merrily in company; to associate happily with others; prancing around with others.
It's origin: consort + cavort
Consort - to associate; keep company
Cavort - to prance or caper about; to make merry
I wrote to Webster's, inquiring of how one goes about getting new words in the dictionary. I defined my new word, convort, and requested its listing in the next edition - free of charge, mind you. I haven't heard from them - it's been a good month.
I've used convort a couple of times in the office. Two people called me on my word, expressing its nonexistence and then consulted the dictionary for proof. Fuck them - I've tried contacting Webster's. Some people look a little perplexed, wondering what the word means. It sounds so familiar to them - are they just stupid and don't recall its exact meaning, or is Carrie participating in malapropism again? They, of course, do not challenge its use for fear of showing ignorance of some sort.
All of this got me thinking - how do I verify the existence of my word? I thought of it, therefore doesn't it exist? The philosophy of words should be a new college course somewhere.
My doubting coworkers referred to the dictionary to prove my vocabulary sucked ass. To them, the dictionary is the collection of birth certificates for words. We all consult the dictionary when disputing a word's existence. If it's not in there, then it's not a word. I bet, when Scrabble hit the market, dictionary sales skyrocketed - I'm not so sure about Boggle. By the way, make sure you keep your dictionary up to date. I just looked for the word "internet" in mine, and it wasn't in there. I about freaked out until I noticed my dictionary was published in 1991. The word "freak" has been around since 1555 - "skyrocket" since 1680.
We rely so heavily on the dictionary to validate what's right and wrong that I fear we're stifling the creativity of word making. Word invention is stuck in a rut. Technical talk and pop culture barely keep vocabulary's evolution above water. "Blog", "google", and "bling bling" are the only examples I can think of for right now.
I'm guessing that the way to get convort out there and known by the public is by slipping it into the script of some sitcom or talk show, maybe a movie but that's a long shot. Good examples of new words being introduced to the public through the media are John Wayne's famous phrase, "absolutely ri-goddamn-diculous", spoken out of frustration toward the American government - not sure why, but what a great goddamn word. A marriage of three words, if you count god damn as two, to express dismay with added zest. A more recent occurrence was that kinda pansy guy who was a guest on American Idol - I don't watch the show, but I heard this word spoken enough after that particular episode: "Ear-delicious" - what a great adjective! Think of the sarcasm that can be made with that word!
Now there are people who still believe that all words should be derived from Latin. Well, I say down with the Latin origin - let's move on. Creating new words can be fun, and most importantly, it will show those nerd-ass kids where to stick their pocket dictionaries. I just made up a new word: "nerd-ass". Or maybe, somehow, I picked it up from someone else. Who cares? It's out there being used - its existence is acknowledged.
Word invention is the new thing. Soon high school English classes will have an assignment to create a new word and then write an essay about it. Maybe there will be contests to get new words published in Webster's, or better yet, some independent alternative dictionary. Maybe there will be "New Word Bees" modeled after spelling bees.
I sign off by saying Haptil.
Haptil - used as a farewell, meaning "be happy until I see you again"
It's origin: consort + cavort
Consort - to associate; keep company
Cavort - to prance or caper about; to make merry
I wrote to Webster's, inquiring of how one goes about getting new words in the dictionary. I defined my new word, convort, and requested its listing in the next edition - free of charge, mind you. I haven't heard from them - it's been a good month.
I've used convort a couple of times in the office. Two people called me on my word, expressing its nonexistence and then consulted the dictionary for proof. Fuck them - I've tried contacting Webster's. Some people look a little perplexed, wondering what the word means. It sounds so familiar to them - are they just stupid and don't recall its exact meaning, or is Carrie participating in malapropism again? They, of course, do not challenge its use for fear of showing ignorance of some sort.
All of this got me thinking - how do I verify the existence of my word? I thought of it, therefore doesn't it exist? The philosophy of words should be a new college course somewhere.
My doubting coworkers referred to the dictionary to prove my vocabulary sucked ass. To them, the dictionary is the collection of birth certificates for words. We all consult the dictionary when disputing a word's existence. If it's not in there, then it's not a word. I bet, when Scrabble hit the market, dictionary sales skyrocketed - I'm not so sure about Boggle. By the way, make sure you keep your dictionary up to date. I just looked for the word "internet" in mine, and it wasn't in there. I about freaked out until I noticed my dictionary was published in 1991. The word "freak" has been around since 1555 - "skyrocket" since 1680.
We rely so heavily on the dictionary to validate what's right and wrong that I fear we're stifling the creativity of word making. Word invention is stuck in a rut. Technical talk and pop culture barely keep vocabulary's evolution above water. "Blog", "google", and "bling bling" are the only examples I can think of for right now.
I'm guessing that the way to get convort out there and known by the public is by slipping it into the script of some sitcom or talk show, maybe a movie but that's a long shot. Good examples of new words being introduced to the public through the media are John Wayne's famous phrase, "absolutely ri-goddamn-diculous", spoken out of frustration toward the American government - not sure why, but what a great goddamn word. A marriage of three words, if you count god damn as two, to express dismay with added zest. A more recent occurrence was that kinda pansy guy who was a guest on American Idol - I don't watch the show, but I heard this word spoken enough after that particular episode: "Ear-delicious" - what a great adjective! Think of the sarcasm that can be made with that word!
Now there are people who still believe that all words should be derived from Latin. Well, I say down with the Latin origin - let's move on. Creating new words can be fun, and most importantly, it will show those nerd-ass kids where to stick their pocket dictionaries. I just made up a new word: "nerd-ass". Or maybe, somehow, I picked it up from someone else. Who cares? It's out there being used - its existence is acknowledged.
Word invention is the new thing. Soon high school English classes will have an assignment to create a new word and then write an essay about it. Maybe there will be contests to get new words published in Webster's, or better yet, some independent alternative dictionary. Maybe there will be "New Word Bees" modeled after spelling bees.
I sign off by saying Haptil.
Haptil - used as a farewell, meaning "be happy until I see you again"
