The English language is dynamic. This means it is always changing. Older words fall into obsolescence, for example malagrugrous which in Scotland once meant dismal, is no longer used. This is counteracted by the development, usually through popular culture, of new words. It wasn’t too long ago that our » Read More
Disappearing words – do you ever wonder how words get pushed out of the dictionary to make way for new words? Well, just like animals or plants, words are put on an endangered words list as revealed by this article on the Guardian, “Dictionary compilers create endangered words list”. » Read More
I recently wrote about what I term ‘mongrel language’, which refers to the convergence of the two languages used in a bilingual environment. I also described how new ‘mongrel’ words are coined when a term is lacking in one of the two languages. The most famous set of made-up » Read More
A portmanteau word is made of two words combined together – the term itself originates from the French word portemanteau, combining porter (to carry) and manteau (cloak). There are countless examples in the English language you’ll already know: Brunch = breakfast + lunch Motel = motor + hotel Telethon = telephone » Read More