New world, new words 數碼時代的新詞匯

Vocabulary: brand new words 詞匯: 全新詞匯

New words in the English language also include emoticons, like this one.

Have you learnt a lot of English words? Well, many more are being created right now! Neologisms appear all the time, especially linked to new technology. This not only represents more work for you but also annoys some native speakers of English.

Every age has its purists. Tom Chatfield, author of "Netymology: A Linguistic Celebration of the Digital World ", says that in the 16th Century, many people frowned upon neologisms with foreign influences. The poet Richard Willies said that they were "smelling too much of the Latin".

In the 19th Century, the English poet William Barnes suggested that the word "photograph" should be replaced by "sun print" in order to achieve proper "Englishness". It didn't catch on.

Now the debate about speech and writing is livelier than ever, says Mr Chatfield. He thinks the Digital Revolution is as significant as the Industrial Revolution, and there are many inventions and processes which have to be named.

From text messages and email to chat rooms and video games, technology has over the past few decades brought about an extraordinary new arena of verbal exchange. The controversy is not so much about foreign influence but informality and abbreviation. The Oxford English Dictionary acknowledged in 2011 the use of initials such as "oh my God" (OMG), "laughs out loud" (LOL) and "for your information" (FYI).

We are moving away from spoken words and towards the act of typing on to a screen. We've already grown so used to saying phrases like dotcom out loud that we forget we are speaking punctuation marks">punctuation marks. And punctuation took a life of its own with emoticons.

The speed of communication today is matched by the speed with which new words are taken up. Bicycles, automobiles and telephones took decades to become a part of daily life as words and objects. With online offerings, new words are adopted in a matter of months. The verb "to google" has become a part of dozens of languages across the world.

Where habit leads, language follows. Only time will tell what endures. Meanwhile, as a student of the English language, you've got a lot of catching up to do.

Quiz 測驗

1. Who wanted the word 'photograph' replaced?

The English poet William Barnes.

2. What are the causes of controversy about English?

Foreign influence, informality, the use of abbreviation, technology and increasing speed of communication.

3. Is this statement true or false? OMG, LOL and FYI were never officially adopted as words in the English language.

False. These expressions were included in the Oxford English Dictionary in 2011.

4. What are symbols like :-) and :-( called?

Emoticons.

5. Which word in the article means "more animated"?

Livelier.

Glossary 词汇表 （点击单词收听发音）

a neologism一個新詞或舊詞新意

a native speaker一個說母語的人

a purist語言純正癖者

to frown upon對某事物表現出不滿

Latin拉丁語

proper正式的、規矩的

to catch on開始流行

a text message一個短信

an email一封電子郵件

a chat room一個聊天室

a video game一個電子遊戲

informality不拘禮節

abbreviation縮寫

OMG (Oh my God)「我的天」的英文縮寫

LOL (Laughing out loud)「哈哈大笑」的英文縮寫

FYI (For your information)「供參考」的英文縮寫

dotcom網站

a punctuation mark一個標點符號

punctuation標點

an emoticon一個表情符

to catch up追趕上