Submitted by Ruby Sahay on Mon, 06/30/2014 - 14:52
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About WordStock: I am no literary scholar, neither a linguist nor a grammarian, but one amongst you, who uses everyday English. A non-native speaker whose first language is English, it is my sensitivity, and a definite love for the language that enables me to observe keenly the trends in modern English. My column WordStock is an attempt to document the visible communication pattern and trends in the English language that we use as a tool to express, connect and correspond. No highbrowed, scholarly stuff but some salient peculiarities and quirks that mark regular expressions. It is all in good humor, about you and me, and the varied ingredients that constitute our language. So, stay on, enjoy the vignettes, and feel free to share your views.
Chapter 1
Trending Vocab: Verbalizing
"Well, I googled the recipe for that perfect guacamole!" Now how's that? Did you 'Google' the recipe or did you 'search on the Internet'? The latter may appear a term conventionally preferred but the former increasingly trends in usage. And despite the fact that one may use several other search engines to look up a fact, one simply ''googles'' it. Interesting, isn't it? One of the most flourishing developments in modern communication is the burgeoning use of verbalizing.
Verbalizing implies changing nouns to verbs. Although, primarily a grammatical affair, verbalizing has recently gained ground as a popular style in tète-à-tète. Accordingly, a host of commonplace terms, expressions and phrases have acquired a face lift, so much so that our generation of youngsters uses them with easy familiarity. The tendency goes on to embrace a host of English speakers who find themselves using innocuous, modern-day versions of the more accustomed, typically used words and phrases. You may ''airbrush'' a picture, but it is rather acceptable to say that you ''Photoshopped'' it. Whether you have the Photoshop tool or not, the term ''Photoshopped'' suggests some sort of a camouflage that could have created a more endearing version of the real thing. Cool, isn't that?
Now, will you ''unlike'' me for being wacky or simply ''message'' me saying that you do not quite appreciate the way I'm getting along? Alternatively, you could 'inbox' me your number and I could call to explain myself. You may recoil at my lingo, but I guess I'm fine as long I'm ''Facebooking!'' However, if you still dislike me, you simply have to ''unfriend'' me. Notice how the Internet and social networking make vocabulary faddishly easy.
Verbalizing nouns has definitely to do with grammar, but modern day verbalizing has, to a marked degree, ''compartmentalized'' itself into informal conversation and social networking. Your friend's teen kid has made news by ''summiting'' the Everest. And while the kiddo may cringe about ''rooming'' with a geek at college, he has certainly chanced upon ''interfacing'' with a rocket scientist. For all you know, they may just ''partner'' on a new project and enjoy ''dialoguing'' about mutual interests.
Much of the recent verbalizing trends can be attributed to the Americanization of English. As British English is rapidly incorporating American flavors, ''verbalise'' with -ise is now written as ''verbalize'' with an -ize. Thus, it isn't uncommon to use words like ''symptomize,'' ''commercialize'' '''radicalize,'' or ''glamorize,'' yet it is more of a trend to say ''twitterize'' yourself, ''vampirize'' the guy and ''calendarize'' the events. These catch phrases may not have found their way into mainstream dictionary but there's something called an Urban Dictionary. Did you know about that yet?
It is a fact that users of English have taken certain words to the gallows and reincarnated them with a dash of colloquialism. Nevertheless, one mustn't forget that verbalizing is often wrought with trickiness. It is fine to 'text' a friend and 'spam' a stalker, but one certainly cannot post a link on another's Facebook page and say, "Hey! I've 'linked' you a funny video." Also, you can ''Google Search'' a long lost friend but you simply cannot ''Yahoo Search'' him. You may ''email," ''ping'' or ''WhatsApp'' him, but you possibly can't ''Facebook'' or ''LinkedIn'' him. And, do you realize that while you can ''lunch'' or ''dine'' with the consultant who ''head hunted'' you for your current role, you definitely cannot ''breakfast'' or ''coffee'' with him? Doesn't that get unpredictable?
I confess I do not ‘network’ so actively. But, if you ‘StumbleUpon’ more such facts, do ‘circularize’ the same.
And, if you have any memories of the teenyboppers who loved to ‘Obama-ize’ their pictures, wait; they are probably waiting to ‘Clinton-ize’ the same! While you puzzle over that, here’s to some cheerful ‘transitioning’ from the standardized to the snazzy.
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About the author: The fragments that make up the world, its people and the impression they leave on her, prompts Ruby to share with you bits and pieces that you may find interesting or informative or both. Her reflections are a mosaic of personal and shared flavors. The content varies, but they're all about people- people like you and me, our footprints and her impressions, our pictures and her albums. She invites you to dip into her flavors, though you have the right to relish or refuse. Should you decide to scratch the surface, agree to disagree with her, but a thumbs up now and then won't hurt!
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