Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Trends in Words

I guess it is not just me.  The NYT has noticed that the word "douche" is being used far more frequently on TV these days.  It is not just TV, however, as I have frequently heard the word used (is art imitating life or vice versa) and online in various blogs/bulletin boards.

I am not a linguist nor have I studied anything like this, but I have long been curious about how words and phrases rise and fall.  I point out in my class when teaching constructivism that my students know what is cool and what is not cool, but then I point out that as an aging prof, I do not even know if cool is the correct word.  Chill?  Hip?  Smooth? Rad?  Phat?  I have no idea.  It is clear that douche is back.  I am pretty sure it left and but has returned. 

For more insight, see this:

2 comments:

Cole Ryan said...

Dunno if you ever saw this...one of my favorite NYT pieces on the evolution of language in popular culture. http://tinyurl.com/n9jos6

Steve Saideman said...

Thanks. I wondered where "FAIL" came from. Its emergence the past year or two has been hard to ignore.