I just re-realized something..

[conuly]

All those once-cool slang words, like phat, rad, groovy, bees knees... somebody made them up. Somebody came up with this word they wanted to use to mean... well, in this case, cool.

But seriously. Linguistic change happens because individuals, not groups, use certain words in certain ways. Eventually, an individual quirk is picked up by a larger group... and it might even spread throughout the entire language, like "cool" did.

I COULD CHANGE THE FACE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

I really could. Just by using words in a set way. I'm already making a tiny impact in the virtual world... I know people other than myself who say *gigglesnorts* online, though I don't know if they do that when not on NC.

But what if I could make a larger difference? What if I could, say, start using thee and thou again? Youse and y'all aren't used much outside of certain regions... but thee and thou, those are universal, if somewhat obsolete.

Or what if I could invent a gender inclusive third person pronoun that people actually use? Not by promoting it, just by using it? Heck, I could go even more exotic... proximate and obviate pronouns! (Basically, the obviate third person is like a FOURTH person... "He kissed his wife", if "his" is the 4th person singular, you know he kissed somebody else's wife, not his own) Or inclusive/exclusive we! (Inclusive: me and you. Exclusive: me and somebody else, not you).

Yeah... okay, I'm getting a little hyper here. So I'll restrict myself to a few smaller goals, which I've already started using in my own speech and writing:

1. *gigglesnorts*
2. "Mihi" and "tibi" instead of "to me" and "to you" ("it seems loud mihi" instead of "it seems loud to me")

I'll make a deal. You post your words-to-be-popularized, and if I like them, I'll try to use them. And vice versa, of course.

(edit) I realized something else, just now! Other people say "bedgoing" (and variants). I mostly just say that on aim, to be sure, in real life I strive to say "going to bed" so as to not appear ignorant, but I use it often on aim... and I know I've seen other people do that as well. I'm also fairly certain that these people did not do that until I started doing that. I'm just too cool :)

Comments

[strangelette.livejournal.com]

ahahaha *misses Latin terribly*

It worked with fandom at large and 'snarky'. More power to ya :)

[conuly]

Where were you in Latin? There's a community, you know, latin.

And yeah, more power to me, but will you help?

[strangelette.livejournal.com]

I did four years in high school, JCL and all that :) It was my favorite subject and I had an absolutely amazing teacher. But, I had to take something "useful" for my degree so I switch to Italian.

Overall I'm really dreadful and languages, it was the culture and history stuff that kept my grade up in Latin. This is my first semester ever without languages classes (and yet, no proficiency).

I'll try to put in a *gigglesnort* here and there :)

[phibby.livejournal.com]

I'll help you out, mainly because mihi sounds so cool and you've finally posted what it meant. (Man, I was wondering!)

Anyway, mind helping "glurge" get in the dictionary? Such a perfect word.

[conuly]

You should've asked! Actually, I thought I had posted what it meant, but it might've been hidden in a stream of Latin. Sorry :(

Glurge, you mean that isn't already there? Maybe it's your dictionary, and another will have it....

[phibby.livejournal.com]

No, pretty sure it's not. Even checked Dictionary.com, nothing. Heck, I doubt I would've heard about it if I wasn't a Snopes junkie. I don't think they're as big as you'd think, so I don't know if one of their words could get in the dictionary so quickly. If I had to explain it to a ton of Neocolours members, then my work is far from done. ^_~

I used mihi in a PPT post and an LJ comment! Yay! :D *huggles* And I didn't even have to think about "Oh, gotta use 'mihi'", just did it since it sounded right. :)

Oh, and another: Smoo. Can really mean anything. Sort of use it as an etc., like, "He's bringing a sleeping bag, canteen, matches, smoo." ^_^ Always thought it sounded right in any situation.

[joeymew.livejournal.com]

All we need to do is get Johnny Depp to join in the crusade and we'll succeed for sure ^-^ Have you noticed how many people are using 'savvey' nowadays?

[conuly]

I always did like that word. Even before he popularized it. But give it a year. If they're still using it after PotC has faded from recent memory, I'll be happy.

[(Anonymous)]

I think wek need an ergative.

[conuly]

Tell me about it. But for that we'd need a case system. Do me a favor, if you're anonymous, tell me who you are.

[xreferenced.livejournal.com]

You can rule me out - I don't post anonymously since basically my whole user is anonymous, so why would I post even more anonymously?

OK, 5 999 999 998 people to go, or thereabouts. =)

And no no no no (BIG no) for a case system. (I assume you folks are thinking of an elaborate - read: overcomplicated - case system.) German nearly killed me. I like watching it - of course I do! It's fun -, but using it can be a pain in the arse. I think I managed to reach a level where I mix it up only as much as the Germans do, but they themselves mix it up fairly often (at least in my experience), so that's not much. =)

[goddess588.livejournal.com]

I wondered about mihi when you used it in a previous post. I'm afraid it won't take off in NZ as your meaning (if you care about such a wee blot in the Pacific) because here mihi is Maori for greeting.

I love your idea, I'm very interested in language shifts and how they come about and I've seen it happen in NZ on a small scale. Though I do think the best people at inventing neologisms or changing the definition of words are kids - about age 8-12. They have more imagination and are in the process of picking up language anyway. Not as rigid as adults tend to be.

I guess it happens younger too, but maybe doesn't stay there - my son is 4 and into PS1 and computers, some of the things he says are loosely associated with that and you have to know that to understand him. Whenever you're waiting for something it's 'loading' and he says 'game over' when he wants you to stop something.

[conuly]

I'm afraid it won't take off in NZ as your meaning (if you care about such a wee blot in the Pacific) because here mihi is Maori for greeting.

O.O

COOL! Aw, now I can freak out my latin class by using mihi in casual conversation but NOT as the dative of reference. *grins* Is that "greeting" as in "hello" or as in "that was a nice greeting"?

[fjorab-teke.livejournal.com]

Opps! Typos I didn't catch until too late...let's try again.

Well, back to the original topics...heeheehee...

I'd love to have a non-gender pronoun for a singular person since "it" conveys a sense of dehumanization, and it's awkward to say "he/she" all the time. I also occasionally use "thee", "thou", and "thy" a bit, though not formally. Usually it's more of a semiformal joking tone, so I'm one of those few not confused by them.

I continually come up with words or variations of them. Sometimes I see them crop up elsewhere and make me wonder if I'm not so original after all. "Confuzzled" is MINE dangit! :-p

Some of my words (or re-issues of them) include:

pudd - a guy who thinks he's all that (and may lead others into thinking he's great) but who's actually a clueless jerk. (puddess - feminine)
bo - handsome/cute/good-looking (male)
beau - a bo guy, or someone's love
belle - feminine form of both beau and bo
jennet - (yes, as in the "other" mix than produces a mule, also sometimes used for female donkey instead of "jenny") a clueless stubborn female, a dim version of a bitch
dinkle dork - a n00b
razz - to poke fun at or joke with someone
spatchcock (look this one up in a dictionary if you wish) - I personally use this in general for something that looks horrible but tastes delicious
aigh! - an exclamation of unpleasant surprise, despair, or general displeasure with the outcome of one's situations
schritt - shorten that one to a more familiar 4-letter word often used in the phrase "aigh, schritt!"
concrookerous - (stonlen from my husband) crooked and twisted...all fuckered up
"too much time to think" - when left with your own thoughts after something bothers you, more issues and emotions arise than the original situation produced...to dwell on something in an unhealthy way

Occasionally I steal clippets of words and phrases I remember from Spanish class. I often use "conmigo" and "contigo": "with me" and "with you".

(Oh, there's a goodie for you in the mail. When it arrives, you may either open it or wait until Christmas, whichever you prefer.)

[strangelette.livejournal.com]

ahahaha *misses Latin terribly*

It worked with fandom at large and 'snarky'. More power to ya :)

[conuly]

Where were you in Latin? There's a community, you know, latin.

And yeah, more power to me, but will you help?

[phibby.livejournal.com]

I'll help you out, mainly because mihi sounds so cool and you've finally posted what it meant. (Man, I was wondering!)

Anyway, mind helping "glurge" get in the dictionary? Such a perfect word.

[conuly]

You should've asked! Actually, I thought I had posted what it meant, but it might've been hidden in a stream of Latin. Sorry :(

Glurge, you mean that isn't already there? Maybe it's your dictionary, and another will have it....

[joeymew.livejournal.com]

All we need to do is get Johnny Depp to join in the crusade and we'll succeed for sure ^-^ Have you noticed how many people are using 'savvey' nowadays?

[conuly]

I always did like that word. Even before he popularized it. But give it a year. If they're still using it after PotC has faded from recent memory, I'll be happy.

[(Anonymous)]

I think wek need an ergative.

[conuly]

Tell me about it. But for that we'd need a case system. Do me a favor, if you're anonymous, tell me who you are.

[goddess588.livejournal.com]

I wondered about mihi when you used it in a previous post. I'm afraid it won't take off in NZ as your meaning (if you care about such a wee blot in the Pacific) because here mihi is Maori for greeting.

I love your idea, I'm very interested in language shifts and how they come about and I've seen it happen in NZ on a small scale. Though I do think the best people at inventing neologisms or changing the definition of words are kids - about age 8-12. They have more imagination and are in the process of picking up language anyway. Not as rigid as adults tend to be.

I guess it happens younger too, but maybe doesn't stay there - my son is 4 and into PS1 and computers, some of the things he says are loosely associated with that and you have to know that to understand him. Whenever you're waiting for something it's 'loading' and he says 'game over' when he wants you to stop something.

[conuly]

I'm afraid it won't take off in NZ as your meaning (if you care about such a wee blot in the Pacific) because here mihi is Maori for greeting.

O.O

COOL! Aw, now I can freak out my latin class by using mihi in casual conversation but NOT as the dative of reference. *grins* Is that "greeting" as in "hello" or as in "that was a nice greeting"?

[fjorab-teke.livejournal.com]

Opps! Typos I didn't catch until too late...let's try again.

Well, back to the original topics...heeheehee...

I'd love to have a non-gender pronoun for a singular person since "it" conveys a sense of dehumanization, and it's awkward to say "he/she" all the time. I also occasionally use "thee", "thou", and "thy" a bit, though not formally. Usually it's more of a semiformal joking tone, so I'm one of those few not confused by them.

I continually come up with words or variations of them. Sometimes I see them crop up elsewhere and make me wonder if I'm not so original after all. "Confuzzled" is MINE dangit! :-p

Some of my words (or re-issues of them) include:

pudd - a guy who thinks he's all that (and may lead others into thinking he's great) but who's actually a clueless jerk. (puddess - feminine)
bo - handsome/cute/good-looking (male)
beau - a bo guy, or someone's love
belle - feminine form of both beau and bo
jennet - (yes, as in the "other" mix than produces a mule, also sometimes used for female donkey instead of "jenny") a clueless stubborn female, a dim version of a bitch
dinkle dork - a n00b
razz - to poke fun at or joke with someone
spatchcock (look this one up in a dictionary if you wish) - I personally use this in general for something that looks horrible but tastes delicious
aigh! - an exclamation of unpleasant surprise, despair, or general displeasure with the outcome of one's situations
schritt - shorten that one to a more familiar 4-letter word often used in the phrase "aigh, schritt!"
concrookerous - (stonlen from my husband) crooked and twisted...all fuckered up
"too much time to think" - when left with your own thoughts after something bothers you, more issues and emotions arise than the original situation produced...to dwell on something in an unhealthy way

Occasionally I steal clippets of words and phrases I remember from Spanish class. I often use "conmigo" and "contigo": "with me" and "with you".

(Oh, there's a goodie for you in the mail. When it arrives, you may either open it or wait until Christmas, whichever you prefer.)