I came across a new word today, one I simply have to have, because it says something so economically. It's lagniappe and I saw it at Language Log.
It means something thrown in as a free extra. It's pronounced lan-yap and comes from the US, from American French, via American Spanish, from Quechua.
Merriam-Webster dates it from 1844
I'll be looking for a chance to use it.
Welcome
Welcome to Parlance’s blog about language.
In the fifteenth century the printing press brought widespread access to knowledge that had previously been reserved for the elite.
Later, the development of the telegraph, the telephone, radio and television provoked predictions of doom.
Now mobile phones and the Internet are underpinning another massive change in our language.
Not everyone is happy to see these changes. But I am. I love words and I’m agog to see how they change and adapt to the realities of twenty-first century life. I hope you’re visiting this blog because you feel the same.
In the fifteenth century the printing press brought widespread access to knowledge that had previously been reserved for the elite.
Later, the development of the telegraph, the telephone, radio and television provoked predictions of doom.
Now mobile phones and the Internet are underpinning another massive change in our language.
Not everyone is happy to see these changes. But I am. I love words and I’m agog to see how they change and adapt to the realities of twenty-first century life. I hope you’re visiting this blog because you feel the same.
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- Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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2 comments:
Speaking of new words, recently I heard a word spoken that I had only ever read and was surprised by it - then I realised I had no preconceived notion of how to say it. Sigil. It was said with a soft g.
I've never heard it said, either. Interesting. Presumably the speaker knew how to say it.
I've read somewhere that lots of words are changing their pronunciation because people are reading them rather than hearing them said, so they just say them how the letters sound.
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