Krypton, Shakespeare, and Meme Culture: A Few Words on Words.

Quick, what's the first thing that comes to mind when I say "Krypton?" Chances are, your mind immediately leapt to the defunct home-planet/mortal weakness and Achilles heel of one Kal-el, more popularly known as Superman.

If I asked you a hundred years ago, your answer would be very different. In 1898, the element Krypton made it's debut, courtesy of one Sir William Ramsay and his colleague Morris Travers. The name was originally taken from the Greek "kryptos" meaning "hidden." But jump ahead to around 1935, when Superman as we know him today was still in his infancy, and you'd find the word being used more frequently (outside scientific circles, at least,) to refer to Kal's home world, and the fictional, radioactive fallout from its destruction that has entered popular culture as Clark Kent's Kryptonite.

Yet again,you may find yourself asking "what the dickens has this got to do with anything?"

A lot,  actually, if you happen to be referring to "Real" v. "Fake" words, and the constant evolution of language.

In this video,the speaker (Ann Curzan) discusses her thoughts on what constitutes a real word- that is, that if a community of people uses a word frequently and know what it means, then the world is real. I agree. If that weren't true, how would you explain the development of local dialects within the same language? Explain the development and prevalence of slang in everyday language? Rao, how would you account for the majority of the ever-loving internet? 

You couldn't. It's that simple. Despite whatever the haters, grammar polizi and language snobs would like to have you believe, English is an ever-expanding, ever-evolving, living language. As such, it is beholden to the people who speak it day-to-day, in whatever form it takes.

For example, my family has always had its own language. From a young age, before I was even allowed free-reign in the horrid, memey abyss that is the internet, I was surrounded by pet names and pop-culture references. As the years have gone by, my parents and I have developed our own quasi-dialect we only use amongst ourselves. Just a few minutes ago, my mom came looking for me asking "Where is the She?" to which I responded "Here is the she!" at which point my mother apologizes profusely for unknowingly shutting the lights off on me.

A grammar snob would be quick to ask "What's wrong with you? What's wrong with your mother? Are you a Lol Cat? Why are you speaking that way? It's just plain wrong!" 

I can see their point. When most people talk about speaking a different language with their family, they usually mean it in the literal second-language sense. Being a white, educated, "neuro-typical"native English speaker living in a predominantly white/Hispanic middle-class American suburb, the average language snob might point out that there is no reason at all (aside from having a sense of humor, that is,) for us to speak that way.

To which I respond: " Please take your head and shove it back wherever you just pulled it from, the smell is burning my ears."

In all seriousness,while I may not (formally) speak another  language, pop culture is my second language. My personal lexicon has been greatly influenced by my experiences with pop culture, media, and my other family members'quirky senses of humor (In fact,"Just enough dysfunction to make you funny," is practically our household motto.) 

I know full well that half the words I use on a regular basis are what some would call out as "bastardized", "improper", or "fake" outright. And frankly, I don't give a damn. Shakespeare, Tolkien, and Seuss were rather liberal in their usage of language, they made up words all the time! Was their writing any less impactful for it? Or did their creative use of language serve to enhance their writings? Think about it.

As far as I'm concerned, you can kvetch all you want that yiss/yish/yuss/yush/yass are not proper synonyms for yes/indeed/I concur, but as a speaker of the English language, it's my prerogative to pick and chose what words to say in order to properly communicate in a given situation. As long as the words I choose properly convey my thoughts and feelings, as long as the people around me are able to easily grasp my meaning, it doesn't matter what some judgmental rando has to say about it. English is alive and changing all the time, I will use it as I see fit. 

In the meantime,to the killjoys and noise-makers out there, I suggest you relax, read some memes, and maybe grow a sense of humor. You'll be doing the rest of us a favor.