Technology Dictates Language

After entering the corporate world, I have been thinking about how our language and word choice affects who we are, or mostly importantly who we claim to be. But as I continued to reflect, I realized that language is just as dynamic as the people speaking it.

As technology and marketing evolve rapidly, so will our vernacular.

I recently came upon Marketing Prof Daily Fix Ted Mininni’s post about new words and phrases. Here are some of my favorites from his post:

1. Blacking Out: v. – To turn off any device that people can reach you with (cell phone, two-way, computer, home phone, morse code, etc.) in order to avoid someone.
2. Compunicate: v. – To chat with someone when you are in the same room, each on separate computers, and you talk via Instant Messenger instead of speaking to them out loud, in person.
3. Mouse Potato: n. – The online generation’s answer to the couch potato.
4. Luxcession: v. – As the economy continues to hit consumers’ wallets affecting their purchasing choices, many mass-class luxury items are also taking a hit.

Will these words reach wide-spread use? I use the verbs “google,” “facebook” and “friend” on a daily basis. For words to gain use, they must have use beyond a small demographic. I don’t know too many Gen Xers who use an IM service-and would probably find it difficult to comprehend how people could talk online while in the same room (thus never understanding how people could compunicate).

But words such as these are making it into dictionaries, even if it is the urban dictionary.

What are some new words that you use?

-Carla