‘Twerking’ has been added to the Oxford English Dictionary as it’s generated enough ‘currency’ to merit inclusion. That’s it, I’m bringing back Latin and we’ll start the entire language all over again.
According to the Oxford Dictionary, last year the word ‘twerking’ was used with such frequency it generated enough currency to be considered for a place in the prestigious pages of the Dictionary. Don’t sound the alarm just yet because, to be fair, this word-related catastrophe shouldn’t come as too much of a shock, considering that since its conception the Internet, and mobile phones alike, have birthed some truly horrific word-mutations that are now scuttling about the cyber-globe and we just sit and watch as the dignity of our language melts away like ice cream on a hot stove.
Now I don’t want to point the finger or blame anyone, but if I did said finger would most likely navigate towards Disney’s latest car-crash Miley Cyrus, whose recent stripper-like display at the VMAs caused the word to describe the raunchy dance move known as ‘twerking’ to be used a lot more than it ought to be.
Before I gathered my ‘pitch’-fork (see what I did there?) and formed the militant wing of the Language Protection Society, I remembered that for centuries those in the dazzling spotlight of fame have always held massive sway and influence over popular culture and language –I’ve heard more than a few scholars harp on’th about some lad called Shakespeare – and that the online banter of the internet-savvy has been slowly colliding with the austere and sophisticated English language for years.
‘To Google’ is now a universally recognised verb; a series of vowel-free abbreviations and acronyms dominate ‘txt spk’ and grammar has started packing its bags as our relationship with it just isn’t the same anymore – believe me it’s us, not you. Without a doubt the internet is becoming a medium for the birth of new languages and dialects.
Language itself has always changed and evolved, or de-evolved if you’re unfortunate enough to be staggering about the streets of Glasgow on a Friday evening, but the internet has rapidly sped up that process and because so many people have access to it 24/7 it is a lot more noticeable. Being well spoken and good at word play has always earned you praise and I feel the same rule applies for the internet; people like to show how adept they are at manipulating language online, for example cat memes.
I am massive fan of the English language, I have several posters of it on my wall and, yeah, perhaps I do get a bit emotional over abused commas and the incorrect use of ‘there’, their’ and ‘they’re’ but to wage war against internet slang would be a losing battle as every social media website is littered with it. I often find that the more glasses of wine I toss back the more my inner stickler rears its pedantic head, but in general I’ve learned to be rather nonchalant every time the internet goblins coin a new phrase or word. And for the sake of your sanity and data usage I suggest you to do.
On an entirely different note, I believe that Cyrus should be repeatedly bludgeoned over the head with a dictionary and her access to Disneyland revoked. Not because she’s a few weeks away from a career on a poll, but because of the influence her ‘dance moves’ at the VMAs are having on the English language. That is truly a bad influence for children.
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