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Putting Out the Patrol for Made-Up Words
Estimates of English’s total word count vary, but linguists agree the
number ranks near the top of the world’s vocabularies. A May GrammarBook newsletter article cited English as having as many as 300,000 distinctly usable words.
With so many residents in a vernacular, impostors posing as real words are bound to slip in. They start as mistakes but last long enough to wiggle into pockets of speech. Before long, they spread out, gaining confidence
and popularity until they set their sights on the real prize: placement in a dictionary.
While casual conversation provides the most refuge for these con artists, their common usage still often lets them cross into composition’s more-managed domain.
Here are but a few made-up words we and our readers have singled out as guilty from the line-up of suspects:
Imposter: administrate (v)
Real Word: administer |
Imposter: participator (n)
Real Word: participant |
Imposter: commentate (v)
Real Word: comment |
Imposter: preventative (adj)
Real Word: preventive |
Imposter: orientate (v)
Real Word: orient |
Imposter: supposably (adj, adv)
Real Word: supposedly |
Imposter: conversate (v)
Real Word: converse |
Imposter: undoutably (adj, adv)
Real Word: undoubtedly |
Imposter: irregardless (adj, adv)
Real Word: regardless |
Imposter: vice-a-versa (adv)
Real Word: vice versa |
Imposter: exploitive (adj)
Real Word: exploitative |
Imposter: whole nother (adj)
Real Words: another, whole other |
Imposter: firstly (secondly, thirdly, etc.) (adv)
Real Word: first (second, third, etc.) |
Imposter: incentivize (v)
Real Words: encourage, motivate, reward |
A few of these invaders, such as irregardless and preventative, have already cleared the fence, crossed their covert tunnels, and arrived safely in dictionaries. That alone does not validate them, nor does it mean we should permit them into our writing.
You also probably noted several made-up words in the list include the suffix -ate. This is a common ploy some words will use to create more versions of themselves.
The suffix -ize operates much the same way. In addition to incentivize, keep an eye on words such as actualize, collectivize, intellectualize, and normalize. Some words, such as finalize, prioritize, memorize, and ostracize, need their three-letter caboose to deliver their meaning, but most -ize words are pitching tents where houses are built.
Made-up words present another call for us to lead the way in upholding concise, grammatical writing. By remaining vigilant, we can help halt the advance of the pretenders.
Because of the e-newsletter’s large readership, please submit your comments or questions regarding today's (or any past) article through GrammarBook.com’s Grammar Blog
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Wordplay
Learn all about who and whom, affect and effect, subjects and verbs, adjectives and adverbs, commas, semicolons, quotation marks, and much more by just sitting back and enjoying these easy-to-follow lessons. Tell your colleagues (and boss), children, teachers, and friends. Click here to watch. |
