The legendary George Carlin
made a career out of calling
attention to the difference
between how words and phrases
are perceived as opposed to
what they're 'actually' saying
...
He would ask wonderfully
rhetorical questions, my favorite
of which was this:
- Would you really get on
a non-stop flight?
And yet, that term is not
only used on a daily basis,
but with a straight face every
time. How does this happen,
where nonsense actually becomes
an understandable phrase?
There are two schools of
thought when it comes to the
use of the English language.
The conservative view is that
its integrity must be maintained,
perhaps grudgingly at times.
The liberal view is that,
in order to be a lively, vibrant
language, it needs to adapt
to the times. Of course, there's
also my view, which is that
the English language defies
definition.
My case could be started
by citing the classic instance
where it can be argued that
'ghoti' is a homonym of 'fish'
by nature of the following
logic:
- 'gh' sounds like 'f' in
words like 'enough' and 'cough;'
- 'o' sounds like 'i' in
'women;' and
- 'ti' sounds like 'sh' in
words like 'sanction' and
'action.'
This is a ridiculous extreme,
of course. The evolution of
letter combinations and the
sounds they represent in English
is a result of dialectical
isolation over many decades.
As universal as the language
has become, this is a natural
progression. It's also why
more geographically 'compact'
languages such as Swedish
remain 'purer' in the logic
of their pronunciation rules.
Another development of English
is that, not only do sounds
change over time, so do definitions.
With that in mind, let's
take a 'nice' change of direction.
'Nice' has its origin in the
Latin word, 'nescius,' which
means 'ignorant.' So, the
phrase 'nice man' would have
been referring to an idiot
in the 1400s. However, by
the 1600s, the word had turned.
A 'nice man' then meant that
he was 'refined.' After slightly
more than a century, a 'nice
man' had become 'pleasant'
--- and recognized in the
Merriam-Webster dictionary
as such --- which stands to
this day.
How 'sick' is that for a
turn of events?
I'm not sure what 'dudes'
did in the 1400s to do the
deed on 'nice,' but their
modern-day progeny are alive
and well today, turning the
street meaning of 'sick' into
a synonym for 'cool,' which
was 'morphed' by earlier 'cats'
from a temperature condition
to a state of zeitgeist. (That's
German for 'trendy;' conservatives
find foreign phrases acceptable
as 'pop' condescensions.)
Every generation has its slang,
of course. It's rare that
definitions of affected words
actually evolve into the established
vernacular, ie- dictionary
recognition, which ironically
gives them the distinction
of being defended by conservatives
as 'proper' English. Whether
that occurs or not, people
of each time period still
need to understand each other.
This gives rise to 'alternative'
reference sources.
One of the more interesting
of these today is the Urban
Dictionary. It's the brainchild
of Aaron Peckham, a student
at (where else?) Cal Poly.
He saw a need to catalog,
define and post today's slang
for the benefit of all. His
site is non-profit and its
popularity has skyrocketed.
The key reason for this has
got to be the exponential
growth of cyberspace.
The Urban Dictionary has
become so popular, it's now
available in book form. It
contains a modest 2000 slang
definitions. However, that's
the same as the number of
submissions the website receives
every day from contributors
around the world. You'll find
over 250,000 submissions there,
from emoticons to phrases.
If you've 'gone 404' ---
a reference for the online
error message displayed when
a site is missing --- you're
truly speaking geek. If you're
ignoring someone by concentrating
on your electronic device,
such as a PDA, MP3 or laptop,
you're 'evoiding' them. Have
you ever accidentally called
someone because your mobile
phone is fitting too tightly
in your pocket? If so, you've
just 'butt dialed' someone.
Peckham's labor of love attracts
millions of hits per year.
He now utilizes the services
of volunteer editors to keep
his site up-to-date. It's
fair to say that the Urban
Dictionary has become a reliable
reference for coping with
the cyber-culture. Peckham
says as much in the book's
introduction, calling it "a
resource for parents trying
to understand their kids,
for language learners confused
by real-world English —
but most of all for your entertainment."
It is an interesting surf.
As he promises, it can even
be quite useful. In fact,
I'd even go so far to say
that he's done a very nice
job with it. Very nice, indeed.
In a sick sort of way, of
course.
