New words
Word formation
Here (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6717435.stm) is a BBC News website article about new words which have appeared in the latest version of the Collins English Dictionary. Read the article and then answer some of the questions below.
- WAG is an acronym, a word made up from the first letters of a series of words in a phrase, then read as if they form a word, not just a series of initial letters (compare WAG to BBC, for instance). From what phrase does the word WAG derive? Can you give some other words that have been created using the same process?
- Celebutantes is a blend, a word made up from the first part of one word (celebrity) and the last part of another (debutantes). Can you give some other words that have been created using the same process? How do blends differ from words like sitcom (from situation comedy) and scifi (from science fiction)?
- Manflu is a word (presumably typically used by women) to describe a mild cold. It derives from the idea that when a man has a slight cold, he behaves as if it were some sort of life-threatening illness, like flu. Do you think this is an example of sexist language? Do you think terms like woman doctor and male nurse are sexist? Why (not)?
- Wiki derives from a Hawai'ian word meaning 'quick'. Very few words have been borrowed from this language into British English. Why do you think this might be? Why do you think more words have been borrowed from French or from Latin?
- Here are some words that some people have suggested should be included in a new dictionary. Do you know or can you work out what they mean? Which words did you have difficulty with? Why were they more difficult to understand than others?
- Cobwebsite
- contrafibularities
- no-brainer
- supermarkitecture
- obstropolous
- chavalanche
- tweenager
- flexitarian