The passionating nature of language
Isabelle is good proof that it is relatively easy to construct grammatically correct English sentences that make absolutely no sense. She also deals well with the frustration of knowing the perfect word in her native language and discovering that their is no English equivalent. For this reason, she invented the word "passionating." Today was the first time I saw it in practice, but she has apparently used it since August and only recently learned that it isn't actually a word. Fortunately, that doesn't phase her. She eagerly asks us things like "Isn't astrophysics passionating?"
How do I feel about astrophysics? I'm not sure. But inventing new words that are fun to say? It's passionating!
How do I feel about astrophysics? I'm not sure. But inventing new words that are fun to say? It's passionating!
posted by megan at
11:03 PM
3 Comments:
You've probably read this, but it seems a propos.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/04/21/academic.hoax.ap/index.html
At least Isabelle has an excuse; as a non-native speaker of English, it's perfectly natural for her to coin new words within her interlanguage grammar. My husband, however, has no such excuse - yet he makes up new words all the time. Seriously, I could do an entire dissertation on his weird wordage.
By
RebeccaP, at 9:07 PM
weaponize
Also, it's "faze", even though the other is more appropriate for physics.
It turns out that reading this I realized that there is an English equivalent! I can't explain why it doesn't seem to me that "passionating" doesn't make any sense. I suppose it's supposed to mean "to fill one with passion". But we don't put "-ating" with any emotions (none that I can think of, that is). However, both "empassion" and "impassion" are words that mean just that. Isn't the English language empassioning? No, not really.
By
Anonymous, at 5:32 PM
I thought empassionating was a word! Oh, well. =(
By
megan, at 9:25 PM
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