Post, Postewn, Postowned

September 26, 2024 6:36 AM

You, too, can strengthen English and write good. "...First, we must not allow new verbs to enter the language in a weak state. We must ensure, for example, that to clone is established as clone, clewn, clown, as in: Future generations of booksellers may reproach us for not having clown Joyce Carol Oates and Isaac Asimov."
posted by storybored (16 comments total)

Lookit all this novenclature.
posted by Captaintripps at 6:51 AM on September 26 [4 favorites]

If it helps, Joyce Carol Oates frequently beclowns herself on Twitter. (We are fortunate Asimov did not survive to share his takes on the Me Too movement.)
posted by Horace Rumpole at 6:58 AM on September 26 [3 favorites]

hopefully idiosyncracy elatens us once again
posted by HearHere at 7:48 AM on September 26 [1 favorite]

A stronger English language would embiggen us all.
posted by AsYouKnow Bob at 10:02 AM on September 26 [3 favorites]

We need the bestest verbing!
posted by BlueHorse at 10:26 AM on September 26

How about we hellnope that one.

We hellnoped it. We are hellnoping it. We will hellnope it. They will have hellnoped it.
Hellnope hellnoping hellnope ... biatch.

That's better than using clown for some tense of clone, IMHO, since clown already has a very specific, if slightly terrifying meaning.
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 10:36 AM on September 26

Studying Spanish and German in high school was a PITA due to having to learn a whole new set of verb inflections.

But when I got started in Japanese in college I found their verb system was just so frickin' cool in its systematic regularity. It's got some complexity, and ambiguities here and there, but so much more user-friendly than the ol' Eigo.

The State Department says Japanese is the hardest language to learn, but I just say GTF outta here about that.
posted by torokunai at 10:40 AM on September 26 [1 favorite]

All these words are perfectly cromulent.
posted by neuron at 11:28 AM on September 26 [1 favorite]

If you need a compleat list of such words, I will cromuloan you my dictionary.
posted by neuron at 11:29 AM on September 26 [4 favorites]

This is like opening the door and finding a Kwyjibo on the loose!
posted by not_on_display at 11:39 AM on September 26

This issue should arouse lovers of the English language.

Consider me aroused.
posted by thoughtful_jester at 1:28 PM on September 26

aroused? beroused, surely
posted by anadem at 1:43 PM on September 26

Idiosyncrasy be damned! I wish to start my own language with only one word (let's say it's, "shmurp") and that is the entirety of the language. All adjectives, nouns, verbs (and tenses) - everything: just that one word. It's a really simple language to learn, but holy hell the context bits are a complete nightmare.
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 3:54 PM on September 26 [1 favorite]

I wish to start my own language with only one word

Zongker, Doug. "Chicken Chicken Chicken: Chicken Chicken", an academic paper [PDF]
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 4:44 PM on September 26 [2 favorites]

Idiosyncrasy be damned! I wish to start my own language with only one word (let's say it's, "shmurp")

ok gargamel
posted by away for regrooving at 12:04 AM on September 27

I wish to start my own language with only one word

My wife and I have started just going "rawr" at each other when we want to say something trivial or contextually obvious to each other. We rawr friendly-like when we cross paths, we rawr grumpily when we're a little displeased at something to convey that it's not serious enough to bother with words... It's working out pretty great, actually! It's amazing how many arguments you don't get tangled in when there's no extra verbiage to misinterpret.
posted by DorsetNaga at 7:38 AM on September 27