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Lingua Techna

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Is the English Language Full?

Some folks just don't get it:

The English language is a growing concern. Every year, Collins gets a pile of free publicity by publicly announcing new additions to its dictionary (last year: Facebook (as a verb), poke (as an action on Facebook) and sub-prime (adjective)). The Oxford English Dictionary does the same, just at a more leisurely, scholarly pace. On YouTube, it's a fair bet there's a new acronym coined every second, AIYDBMGAHAL. Not often, however, does anyone stop to ask whether this is a good thing, whether – to paraphrase Migrationwatch – the English language is full.

If you think the English language is “full,” this could be a sign that, like the kid in the old Gary Larson cartoon, your brain is full. Ironic, too, that in a rant against new terms, the writer coins, yup, a new term! The tongue-in-cheek initialism (not an acronym) AIYDBMGAHAL stands for “and if you don’t believe me go and have a look.” Why, I do believe I will, thanks very much.

 

 
Published Jun 19 2008, 10:35 AM by Paul
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Comments

 

Everything You Know About English Is Wrong » Word spotting said:

Pingback from  Everything You Know About English Is Wrong » Word spotting

June 22, 2008 9:43 AM
 

kristen said:

I don't get it.  Does it mean that we just can't make up any new words because they've all been used or are we just so warped by the internet that the language is screwed!!??

July 10, 2008 10:37 PM
 

annon said:

AIYDBMGAHAL.

Now is this a good thing? Does it enhance or retard comunicatiion?

The proof is left as an exercise for the reader

July 31, 2008 8:27 PM
 

DeepText said:

The English language is the most successful language in the history of humankind.  No one can control its growth or its decay.  Absurd words will die away quietly.  There are some really good new ones:  to email, to browse, to text.

Just sit back in amazement and watch!

August 6, 2008 7:40 PM
 

geri howard said:

Take a look at Beowulf in the original English.

Then have a look at Chaucer.  BIG CHANGES!

August 26, 2008 4:10 AM

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