The World of Words: Vocabulary for College Success ... - eLibrary

98 Chapter 4 Other Useful English WordsDid You Know?How Does English Get New Words?Which language has the most words? Which one is most used for internationalcommunication? The answer to both questions is English!Mandarin Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world,but English is number two. Perhaps more important, English is theworld’s most widely used international language. Most international scientificjournals are published in English. Foreign companies train manyemployees in English. In fact, it is estimated that up to a billion peopleworldwide are currently learning the language you are reading.English influences other languages too. Guddobai and hottodogguare now used in Japanese for “goodbye” and “hot dog.” The position ofEnglish has caused some resentment. Wanting to keep their language“pure,” the French even passed a law forbidding their government fromusing terms based on English words like le weekend and le Big Western.New inventions, discoveries, and customs are constantly addingwords to English. In 1928, the first Oxford English Dictionary had ten volumes;its size has since more than doubled. Editors continue to add newterms like reality television, 24/7 (all the time), and geekfest (unfashionablepeople having a technical discussion). Technology has given us wordssuch as software and texting. Many new technological words are takenfrom parts of older words. Retail refers to buying at a store; e-tail meansbuying on the Internet; an e-zine is a magazine on the Internet. Netiquettecombines Internet and etiquette; it refers to how one behaves when usingthe Internet.Food also gives us new words. Those who object to genetically modifiedfood call it Frankenfood, a combination of Frankenstein (from thefamous horror story) and food. A locovore is a person who eats only foodproduced and grown locally. The loco is taken from “local” and the vorepart is from “eater,” as in carnivore—an animal that eats meat. The termphood hasn’t made it into dictionaries yet, but is used in the food industry.Responding to a demand for healthy foods, many companies enrichedtheir products with nutritional supplements. The resulting products areoften called phood, combining the terms pharmaceutical and food.Other new words are business related. Hours in the office are calledface time. The Canadian government put a picture of a loon, a water birdfound in Canadian lakes, on its dollar coin. People nicknamed the coinloonie. Then, when the government issued a two-dollar coin, it waspromptly nicknamed the toonie! Business conditions can also drawattention to existing words. When the U.S. government aided businessesin the 2008 recession, bailout became the most looked-up word on theMerriam-Webster dictionary website.Ancient Greek and Latin words are also used to create Englishwords. A person who is interested in the quality of sound reproduction isCopyright © Cengage Learning. All Right Reserved.