Some words about words

Posted on 16th Nov 2014

Though "performant" is not a word, it is quite often used in the tech industry to refer to something performing well. This Wikipedia page does a good job providing some history behind the word in contention: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Talk:performant.

It is true that new words are being invented all the time, a phenomenon increasingly prevalent in the tech industry. However, since this word doesn't particular fall in the realm of tech jargon, I feel conflicted whether or not it should be acceptable.

For the record, I believe languages are owned by the communities which speak them, so if words become prevalent, I find it acceptable for the language/dictionary to adopt new words into the lexicon as they become more common in the vernacular, or in the more traditional sense, when a technical word is invented to describe new discoveries/ phenomenon.

Recently however, this same logic has started being used to justify insertions of colloquial terms such as selfie into the official language, and generally I'm displeased by this. Perhaps what I find distressing is the rampant act that the word describes, and since I disapprove of the narcissistic act the word describes, I might feel it should not be accepted as an "official" word, as if that would somehow legitimize the act I so disapprove of. I understand that this is a bit silly, since being critical of the particular phenomenon a word describes does not remove the need to provide a label for it; this seems to be the very purpose of language (though a part of me still thinks that labelling it helps perpetuate it further, and that somehow if it wasn't branded it would go away).

This got me to think deeply about the very essence of language, and I began to question which authorities are meant to legislate that which seems to belong to all of us. This topical TED talk; http://www.ted.com/talks/anne_curzan_what_makes_a_word_real provided some insight and different perspectives on the matter, but still did not quench my frustration about fears of polluting the language, because I get the sense that it is a sign that, especially with the advent of technological aids which now allow language to be dismissed even more casually, we are finally giving up, and instead of correcting others, increasingly accepting inaccuracies because many people are making them; all too similar to right-clicking and adding to the dictionary to have that condescending red squiggle disappear.

Well, I for one feel it is irresponsible of the public to not help cultivate the language in a meaningful way, rather than have it literally drift in whatever direction it ends up.