Words represent modern language, current society
For all you English lovers and self-proclaimed language nerds, new additions to the Merriam-Webster dictionary were made last week.
Of the new words, coming to the forefront of public concern and conversation are "cougar," "fist bump," "tweet" and "bromance." Not everyone is fist bumping about it, though. Sentiments about these new additions to our beloved language range from witty approval to disdain and a little fear. While many feel these language developments are a shame, depressing or tearing down the institution of proper verbiage from our language and our practices, to me they demonstrate growth. They represent the world we're living in.
The English language continues to evolve and develop as our culture (and the people who constitute it) does. And yeah, we chuckle at their additions because they resonate with us, because they are words that we use every day, probably more so than archaic terms like tillage or colloquial. Shouldn't a catalog of our language reflect what we actually say?
The "tweet" aided a revolution. The word is a force powerful enough to establish a voice for the people of Egypt, even as the Egyptian government is doing all it can to silence their voice — big stuff for a word whose addition is supposedly "failing our society."
Words that mobilize the voice of an entire country deserve a place in our lexicon.
The "fist bump" that President Barack Obama shared with his wife when accepting the 2008 nomination is credited as a significant reason for the term's dictionary debut.
What really made that "pound it" moment so special was our reaction to the fist bump. After all, these words became new dictionary additions based on our collective response to them. The "fist bump heard 'round the world" was only heard because it's an action that people recognize and because it embodies the same meaning for us that it did for him in that great moment.
And sure, "bromance" seems a little ridiculous, and Hollywood probably loves them a little too much (enter "Superbad," "I Love You, Man," "Scrubs" and "Hey Arnold!"), but people relate to them. Bromances are everywhere. At the end of the day, we know people who are in serious bromances, and they recognize those relationships as such.
These words are well known enough to stand on their own. No definition is required to have a discussion about their dictionary presence. We can't reject these new additions when we are the ones who give them the popularity and placement that they have.
After all, "culture" is the customary beliefs, social forms and material traits of a social group, according to Merriam-Webster.