Word Up

Word is that there are now 1 million words in the English language. With the breathless hype of an e-mail scam or shopping gimmick, the Global Language Monitor announced recently that “Web 2.0” is the 1-millionth word to appear in English. GLM, which uses a math formula to track the frequency of words and phrases in print and electronic media, reported that “Web 2.0” appeared more than 25,000 times in searches and was widely accepted, giving it legitimacy as the millionth word. The word counters calculated that 14.7 new English words or phrases are generated daily.

Many linguists remain unimpressed. Count Half Shell among them. Any words that include numbers are suspect, better left to algebra and chemistry than English. And once the glow of the millionth word wears off, how long before GLM gives up counting words in English and just goes with the slogan, “Billions and billions coined?”

Word of the Year
You know how actors seem to have about a katrillion awards to prop up their egos every year – from Tonys to Emmys to Oscars to Golden Globes to People’s Choice to Spirit Awards? It’s the same with words. Merriam Webster has a Word of the Year. So does the aforementioned GLM, and newworldword.com, to name a few.

But the granddaddy of all word-of-the-year votes is cast by the American Dialect Society, which is the longest running contest and the only one not tied to some commercial entity. So we’ll go with the 119-year-old institution made up of linguists, lexicographers, etymologists, grammarians, historians, researchers, writers, authors, editors, professors, university students and independent scholars. Their choice for the 2008 Word of the Year? “Bailout.”

Other category winners included:

Most Creative: “Recombobulation area,” describing a place at Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee where passengers that have just passed through security screening can get their clothes and belongings back in order.

Most Unnecessary: “Moofing,” derived from “mobile out of office,” a PR word that means working on the go with a laptop and cell phone.

Most Euphemistic: “Scooping technician,” describing a person whose job it is to pick up dog poop.

Most Likely to Succeed: “Shovel-ready,” describing infrastructure projects that can be started quickly when funds become available.

One of the things you notice with many previous words of the year is how quickly they become obsolete. That said, my favorite ADS-approved Word of the Year so far this millennium was chosen in 2006: “To be plutoed” or “to pluto,” meaning to be demoted or devalued.

Here at Half Shell, we’re pushing for “Rhody-sized,” describing any object or entity measured in “size of Rhode Island” units (with or without bay), to be the 2009 Word of the Year. If you’re a wildfire, an asteroid, an iceberg, an oil spill or an Australian sheep farm, chances are you’ve already been Rhody-sized.

What is your choice for 2009 Word of the Year?