i love language.
i love living, breathing language.
the 11th edition of the collins english dictionary, to be published tomorrow, has delighted me by formalising a fresh clutch of contemporary chatter, some examples of which i shall display here:
mumpreneur
a woman who combines running a business with
looking after her children
foodoir
a book or blog which combines a personal memoir with
a series of recipes
clicktivism
combines the words click and activism to mean using the
internet to take direct and often militant action
to achieve political or social aims
frape
which mixes the words facebook and rape to refer to the altering of information on a person's profile on the social networking site without their permission
cuddle class
a category of airline ticket in which two passengers purchase an additional seat so that they can recline together
mamil
a middle-aged man in lycra
and of course the current revolts across the middle east and north africa are reflected in the term 'arab spring', a period in which arab people seek democratic reforms.
but i can't help thinking that this, as well as all other dictionaries, lag behind the times. the finest reference sources are truly the likes of you and me and the words we speak and write as we all play a role in defining the direction our beloved language takes in the future.
looked upon like that, we shoulder a huge responsibility.
