Nice Twist
The legendary George Carlin made a career out of calling
attention to the difference between how words and phrases are
perceived as opposed to what they're 'actually' saying ...
He would ask wonderfully rhetorical questions, my favorite of
which was this:
- Would you really get on a non-stop flight?
And yet, that term is not only used on a daily basis, but with a
straight face every time. How does this happen, where nonsense
actually becomes an understandable phrase?
There are two schools of thought when it comes to the use of the
English language. The conservative view is that its integrity
must be maintained, perhaps grudgingly at times. The liberal
view is that, in order to be a lively, vibrant language, it
needs to adapt to the times. Of course, there's also my view,
which is that the English language defies definition.
My case could be started by citing the classic instance where it
can be argued that 'ghoti' is a homonym of 'fish' by nature of
the following logic:
- 'gh' sounds like 'f' in words like 'enough' and 'cough;'
- 'o' sounds like 'i' in 'women;' and
- 'ti' sounds like 'sh' in words like 'sanction' and 'action.'
This is a ridiculous extreme, of course. The evolution of letter
combinations and the sounds they represent in English is a
result of dialectical isolation over many decades. As universal
as the language has become, this is a natural progression. It's
also why more geographically 'compact' languages such as Swedish
remain 'purer' in the logic of their pronunciation rules.
Another development of English is that, not only do sounds
change over time, so do definitions.
With that in mind, let's take a 'nice' change of direction.
'Nice' has its origin in the Latin word, 'nescius,' which means
'ignorant.' So, the phrase 'nice man' would have been referring
to an idiot in the 1400s. However, by the 1600s, the word had
turned. A 'nice man' then meant that he was 'refined.' After
slightly more than a century, a 'nice man' had become 'pleasant'
--- and recognized in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as such ---
which stands to this day.
How 'sick' is that for a turn of events?
I'm not sure what 'dudes' did in the 1400s to do the deed on
'nice,' but their modern-day progeny are alive and well today,
turning the street meaning of 'sick' into a synonym for 'cool,'
which was 'morphed' by earlier 'cats' from a temperature
condition to a state of zeitgeist. (That's German for 'trendy;'
conservatives find foreign phrases acceptable as 'pop'
condescensions.) Every generation has its slang, of course. It's
rare that definitions of affected words actually evolve into the
established vernacular, ie- dictionary recognition, which
ironically gives them the distinction of being defended by
conservatives as 'proper' English. Whether that occurs or not,
people of each time period still need to understand each other.
This gives rise to 'alternative' reference sources.
One of the more interesting of these today is the Urban
Dictionary. It's the brainchild of Aaron Peckham, a student at
(where else?) Cal Poly. He saw a need to catalog, define and
post today's slang for the benefit of all. His site is
non-profit and its popularity has skyrocketed. The key reason
for this has got to be the exponential growth of cyberspace.
The Urban Dictionary has become so popular, it's now available
in book form. It contains a modest 2000 slang definitions.
However, that's the same as the number of submissions the
website receives every day from contributors around the world.
You'll find over 250,000 submissions there, from emoticons to
phrases.
If you've 'gone 404' --- a reference for the online error
message displayed when a site is missing --- you're truly
speaking geek. If you're ignoring someone by concentrating on
your electronic device, such as a PDA, MP3 or laptop, you're
'evoiding' them. Have you ever accidentally called someone
because your mobile phone is fitting too tightly in your pocket?
If so, you've just 'butt dialed' someone.
Peckham's labor of love attracts millions of hits per year. He
now utilizes the services of volunteer editors to keep his site
up-to-date. It's fair to say that the Urban Dictionary has
become a reliable reference for coping with the cyber-culture.
Peckham says as much in the book's introduction, calling it "a
resource for parents trying to understand their kids, for
language learners confused by real-world English -- but most of
all for your entertainment."
It is an interesting surf. As he promises, it can even be quite
useful. In fact, I'd even go so far to say that he's done a very
nice job with it. Very nice, indeed. In a sick sort of way, of
course.