My sooterkin is a sloberchops (article on how language changes)

[JohnyCanuck]

No, those aren't made up words. They're old English words that have fallen out of use. Here's an interesting article on how the English language changes and evolves over time from the Barbados Nation News.


On The Other Hand – My sooterkin's a sloberchops
Published on: 12/11/05.

BY PETER LAURIE

<snip>

The one unchanging feature of language is change. By definition any change is a deviation from the standard. Thus a mistake becomes part of the mainstream and no one thinks of it as wrong.

For example, someone who would sneer if he saw use books for sale would not lift an eyebrow if he saw ice cream for sale. Yet both arose because some illiterate stopped pronouncing the 'd' at the end of the word. The only difference is that ice cream is now universally accepted.

We also lost such expressive words as fribble for a frivolous person, bossloper for a hermit, puckerstoppled for embarrassed and bantling for an infant. There were also the marvellous sooterkin and sloberchops, to which I shall return.

I bet you think fall for autumn is an Americanism. Think again. It's an English usage that dates back to the mid-sixteenth century. It died out in England in the 19th century but remained in use in the U.S.

http://www.nationnews.com/editorial/334389596819707.php

[Strong Atheist]

1. And yet, somehow, I keep

getting into arguments with English purists who insist that the way that they learned to use words is the way that it has always been and will always be and will never change. I argue that language evolves, and words come to mean what the majority at a given time/place use them for ...

[LynzM]

2. Interesting dude, thanks!

You should cross-post this in the Languages and Linguistics group, I think people would get a kick out of it in there, too!

It's definitely interesting to look at the ways that languages changes with time. And change it does, for sure.

[NV Whino]

3. The word impact is a perfect example

Impact means the action of one object coming forcibly into contact with another. It is currently evolving to mean inflluence or affect.

Impacted means pressed firmly together or lodged in place, as in impacted tooth. It is currently evolving to mean the past tense of affect.

[Oeditpus Rex]

4. One of my biggest language peeves, Whino

OK:
"The meteor will have a tremendous impact on Earth's surface."

Not OK:
"The new Wal-Mart Supercenter will have a tremendous impact on the local economy."

Seriously freakin' not OK:
"The Wal-Mart Supercenter negatively impacted the local economy."

WTF is a negative impact? A bump?

It would be folly to deny that language doesn't evolve. But as I've always told young reporters who tried to substitute "impact" for "effect" or "affect," for example, evolution is not an excuse to foster common misuse.

[NV Whino]

5. I agree with "seriously freakin' not okay

Another one that annoys the hell out of me is the use of the words troop and troops.

A troop refers to a GROUP--such as a group of soldiers, a cavalry unit, an airborn unit or 18 to 24 Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts.
It is NOT, by damn, a single person... or soldier... or Girl or Boy Scout.

Troops refers to GROUPS. It does NOT mean 2 or 3 people.

Troop or trooped is also used as a verb (generally associated with a group of people), but use of the verb is irrelevant in this rant.

[_testify_]

8. I have been arguing that one for years

Also...this is a minor one but it's 'stamping grounds' and not 'stomping grounds'...

I dunno why that bothers me, but it does.

[Oeditpus Rex]

9. Yup... and on that note

Why do teevee asshats say troops are "on the ground"? What, like they usually hover?

[NV Whino]

10. Well, I suppose

that sometimes troops are in the air (on the way to getting on the ground?).

[rug]

6. I bet they're still used in Canada.

[Pithlet]

7. I say bring back puckerstoppled

to regular, every day usage :)