Content in Context

Adoption certificate for "jobler" from the OED

I believe I’ve mentioned before that everything changes.

That’s just a truism: who can argue with it? The seasons cycle; we age and die. Our emotions change from moment to moment. Kids grow up faster than we want them to. Our relationships with one another change even when we hope they won’t. People leave us. New people come into our lives.

And change is scary. Not just for humans, but for all creatures. If you’ve ever moved a piece of furniture in a cat’s home—or just changed the bedsheets—you know what I mean.

We may resist change or embrace it or both, depending on our personalities and circumstances—and the context. But even when we’re moving full steam ahead, change isn’t easy.

Human language changes too. More slowly than our piddling individual lives, but inexorably. And as with other kinds of change, people respond differently. Some dig in their heels and insist on maintaining the standards of yesteryear. Others scorn historical precedent and welcome neologism like the pizza guy at 2 a.m.

Changes in language are both documented and determined by linguistic specialists; perhaps the most trusted of these specialists for word definition and frequency of use in English are the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary.

These sages are engaged in a public trust: they research the frequency of word use in contemporary speech and writing, then decide for any given edition of the dictionary which words should be considered obsolete. It’s a somewhat paradoxical endeavor: once a word is defined as archaic, it’s less likely to be used. A delicate balance.

Some words deserve to be excised from the common parlance. A word may truly have no contemporary application. Or it may be unwieldy, with a meaning duplicated by far more elegant and useful words. Its meaning may be too specific or too general. Or it may simply be ugly.

But there are many words that deserve to live on and flourish. Useful, appropriate, timely, interesting, engaging, expressive words in immediate danger of extinction.

Here’s a word I like: moderation. It implies both the avoidance of extremes and the integration of opposing viewpoints. And it’s a really good way to set about dealing with change.

Adopt your own word(s) here!

Words I’ve Adopted

Jobler: One who does small jobs. The recession hit me so hard that I’ve had to become a jobler to make ends meet.

Bucellation: The act of dividing food into small bite-sized portions. Some kids won’t eat dinner unless you bucellate everything before putting the plate on the table.

Sodalicious: Belonging to society or fellowship. I have such a sodalicious nature that I get lonely when I try to work from home.

Spiscious: Of a thick consistency. Whisk steadily over a low light just till the mixture is spiscious.

Amarulence: Bitterness, spite, scorn. I know I sometimes come across as amarulent, but it’s just a defense against rejection.

Lardlet: A small piece of bacon used to enrich meat. This bacon fad has become so widespread that I had to pick lardlets out of my ham sandwich at lunch.

Prandicle: A small meal. I heard it was healther to eat often throughout the day, so I’ve decided to break for a prandicle every half hour.

Phlyarologist: One who talks rubbish. Of course I gave him my number. But until I hear from him, I’m assuming he’s a phlyarologist.

Vicambulate: To walk about in the streets. “Do you feel like waiting for a table?” “Nah, let’s just vicambulate till we figure out where else to go.”

Lambition: The act of licking or lapping. I really like your dog, but his lambition is endangering my Jimmy Choos. Can you call him off?

Adopt your own word(s) here!