Smoke and Meers
Posted by Sheldon on March 22nd, 2007.Print This Post | Email to a friend | Leave a Comment
What makes a word a word?
This question came up the other day while IMing with a co-worker. I suggested that a word is simply a number of characters in a string that implies meaning.
My co-worker said I was wrong, that the meaning had to be agreed upon.
Obviously, she is wrong but I wanted to open the question up to the readers of Kotyk.com.
What do you think?
To Do: Add to Digg | Add to Del.icio.us | Print This Post | Email to a friend | Leave a Comment
Remotely Related: Basement Blues
March 22nd, 2007 at 1:25 pm
Nah, I don’t think it has to be agreed upon. I can come up with perfectly cromulous words on the spot and get my meaning across. After all, I call people F’Torqs from time to time. And who says your word has to be pronounced with the English phonetics? Maybe ‘Chzeen Gjiun’ is an obscure romanization of an East Asian language… you never know.
In a more normal sense, people understand when I verb nouns. And even though the definition says you can’t ‘verb’ something, everyone seems to be able to figure it out.
Anyways, back to work!
March 22nd, 2007 at 1:34 pm
Thanks Chris,
I’ve versioned that comment.
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:19 pm
no n00bs…im 2 1337 2 say difrnt
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:11 pm
Xcellnt poynt rob.
March 27th, 2007 at 7:23 am
I think if two people agree that a word is a word, then it’s a word. While it may not be picked up by Webster’s Dictionary for a while, it still connotes meaning. For example, Webster’s added the acromyn EVOO to their dictionary last year due to the Food Network star Rachel Ray’s use of it for Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
It happens.
March 27th, 2007 at 7:32 am
Hey Sam, thanks for stopping by.
Is Meers a word apart from being a last name :)
By putting it within the context of Smoke and Meers, it was able to imply the meaning of Mirrors. Did someone else have to agree before it attained “word” status?
March 27th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
If I had to choose, I’d say that word is only a word if it does communicate. So a person doesn’t have to agree that an arrangement of letters should always mean (or be the best way to communicate) what it’s being used for.
So, though I understood what ‘meers’ meant from you, it communicated. We agreed that in this context it was a word since I understood your meaning. Doesn’t mean I’d use it or agree that it’s a word that communicates outside of this context.
So I say, yes, it’s a word if we both agree, but only in context.
March 27th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
Did the fact that you agreed on its meaning make it a word? What if it implies its meaning in a situation that you are not familiar with but saw it anyway. Someone else may understand its meaning and make it a word when you did not. Does that mean it is not a word for you but a word for the other person?
I say it is a word as soon as the letters are put together and implies a meaning. Whether it is understood by anyone only makes a difference in its effectiveness and its reach and whether Oxford will notice it and add it to the dictionary.
See D’oh.
March 27th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
Well, maybe you’re right. There are many words I don’t understand the definition of. BUT, others have agreed that it is a word to communicate a certain definition.
Oh I dunno.