got a dictionary?

Thanks Mike.

My perspective is that jargon is the leading edge of the evolution of language (and to a certain extent culture). As with most emerging species, most jargon does not survive or spread very far outside its original environment. Some of it is simply unable to reproduce. Some is eliminated by predators. Some can’t survive in a difficult or different environment (a selective service provided by folks like yourself). Those that survive become part of the ongoing ecosystem of language — megabyte, cell phone, automobile, refrigerator, democracy, you know, all the words we kind of assume are part of “correct” language.

Perhaps ‘mama’ was the first piece of jargon, arising from mouth motions of nursing and confined to that subset of society known as “infants”. The sound (dare we call it a “word” at that stage?) got picked up by another subculture known as “elders” to refer to the natural world (Mother Nature) and things kinda snowballed (a word probably not coined in Africa or the Middle East) from there. The messy March of Evolution goes on.

Blessings on the Journey.

Coheartedly,
Tom

—–Original Message—–
From: Mike Goldstein
Sent: Sep 25, 2010 9:08 AM 

To: cii@igc.org
Subject: got a dictionary?

“Scenario work”? “Visioning”?

What dictionary are you guys using? Did CNN consult you for the phrase, “The target has been attrited”?

Nice to just make up words when you need them, but perhaps you should do your homework before posting on the Internet? “Volunteerism”, “previsualization”, and “wellness” aren’t legal English words (typical examples of your error), neither is “visioning”, and “scenario” is not an adjective nor an adverb.

I’d never take any Internet web site seriously, that mangled the language like that!