999,999 and counting...

by Robert Rich, Editing Assistant

The English language is ever-evolving, and every day new words are added to local and national vernaculars at the expense of older, and often more appropriate, terms. It comes as no surprise that many of these new words are developed and put into practice by members of the younger generation. And now, the Global Language Monitor is claiming that in the early hours of June 10, the one millionth English word will be coined. When exactly new words can be considered full parts of the language is undeniably a gray area, but the GLM recognizes words once they have been used 25,000 times by media outlets, on social networking sites, and in other sources.

With that in mind, I took a look at some of the new words added to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) in recent years, and the results painted a striking portrait of either a) the constant evolution of language in a constantly evolving world, or b) the breakdown of language due to the acceptance of slang into common usage. Who knows, maybe I’m just being a curmudgeon (a word that, according to the OED, has been around since 1577). But, in my humble opinion, while we should recognize terms that rise to prominence over time, that doesn’t necessarily mean they deserve to be added to the dictionary. After all, that TV dinner sitting in your freezer may be easy to make, but is it really food?

Here are some of the notable words added to the OED in the past few years:

Muggle: n. In the fiction of J.K. Rowling, a person who possesses no magical powers. Hence in allusive and extended uses, a person who lacks a particular skill or skills, or who is regarded as inferior in some way.

I’ll admit, I found myself swept up in the Harry Potter fanaticism when the book was first released. But even as a fifth-grader, I found the term “muggle” an absurd slice of fantasy, and definitely not something worthy of the “real word” classification. Never, however, underestimate the power of a group of kids caught in the wake of a fad.

Gaydar: n. A homosexual person’s ability to identify another person as homosexual by interpreting subtle signals conveyed by their appearance, interests, etc.

Gaydar is a term poised to cause nothing but controversy. Like another culturally dangerous term, gaydar will inevitably cause conflict regarding who can use it and when.

Riffage: n. Informal guitar riffs, especially in rock music.

The word riffage probably conjures up images of Mike Myers in Wayne’s World, adding “dude” to everything he says and displaying some Keanu Reeves-esque emotion. In reality, the addition of “riffage” gives implicit permission to simply add “-age” to the end of a noun and come up with a new word. Isn’t riff enough? After all, “damage” doesn’t refer to a really awesome piece of beaver engineering.

Ego-surfing: v. Searching the internet for instances of one’s own name or links to one’s own website.

This is also called a vanity search, and I’ll admit to having performed one before. Still, considering how few people really want to cop to performing this action, do we really need more than one term for it?

Crunk: n. A type of hip-hop or rap music characterized by repeated shouted catchphrases and elements typical of electronic dance music, such as prominent bass.

I heard this word all the time at high school dances, and to this day, it still confuses me. I’ve heard it as a noun, like the above definition, and as an adjective, ostensibly referring to items that are really awesome. Either way, it’s ridiculous.

The day I create a new term and it starts getting widespread usage, I’ll probably change my tune, but until then, let’s try to preserve the integrity of the English language and not put every term we hear on MTV in the dictionary.

So what do you think? Do these words deserve a spot in the dictionary? Are there any words you think should be added to the dictionary?