As I mentioned earlier, the Global Language Monitor previewed the introduction of the one millionth word to the English language. Great publicity followed. They have returned two months later to declare that the one million word barrier has been surpassed. Fanfare abounds to celebrate this glorious day. And the GLM brand is once again associated with a concept that it made up on its own.
For the record, the millionth word is “Web 2.0″, which was coined ten years ago. It sure does work well for Internet publicity here, though.
Also among the last words to be recognized as “part of the English language” were Octomom and Jai Ho! Yeah, I can’t see how any person who takes languages seriosly would have a problem with any of this…
First, Octomom is a nickname given to one specific person. Logically, this means that J-Lo, Becks, and Governator also make up the compendium of the English language. As much as I love experimentation and the creativity behind “Octomom” and “Governator”, I refuse to believe that those are legitimate contributions to the world’s most ubiquitous language.
Jai Ho! is a foreign phrase that is not communicating a concept that is foreign to English. It’s just a phrase that has a rough translation in English but no demonstrated usage outside of a popular song (which is a fantastic song). I see no reason to include it in a list of English words, unlike “gesundheit” or “petits fours”, which have a unique usage within the language itself.
In short, I am TIRED of the GLM and its desperate quest for self promotion and I can’t believe that “serious news publications” buy into it.
Tags: English, English Words, Global Language Monitor, language appreciation, Oxford English Dictionary
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