Language is a very fluid thing and even when describing commonplace and quite mundane events it is likely that we of the modern age, would find it difficult to understand our distant ancestors.
By fluid I mean at the rate of perhaps the pioneering of a handful of new words a year, a few subtle changes in meaning every decade and with the bigger cultural swings and shifts every generation or so.
Geoffrey Chaucer who wrote between 1374 and 1386 is widely held to one of the principal introducers of new words to the English Language although given the rarity of surviving or as widely read contemporaries he may just have cornered the market in being the last man standing of that age.
Those of you who studied the works of Chaucer as a set text in secondary school, like me, will have struggled with not just the form of words but also their tone and delivery. It was only when the Wife of Bath was read aloud in a lyrical and almost mystical cadence that the story took shape in all of its ribald and, frankly, crude and vulgar manner.
In all of the pages of the Oxford English Dictionary it is Chaucer who holds the record number of citations for the use of a new word at a tremendous 2004.
Amongst these are some surprising ones that I always thought existed from the very earliest of the writings of mankind or in the great volumes of text emanating from religious works. Take Bagpipe, bed head, hernia, outrageous, scissors, Persian, vacation, universe and wallet for example. These words, even though first penned by Chaucer will have mainly been known in common dialogue and with their etymology in ancient culture.
Later Medieval conversations had an abundance of what we would now regard as quite flamboyant and romantic terms revolving around thy, thee, whither, thither, hither, perchance, prithee, verily and methinks and with a strong emphasis on deference and respect to the ruling class, nobility and elders.
By the age of Shakespeare words and language had evolved as more of the population, although still those of privileged upbringing and nurture, were able to read or hold a rational and structured conversation. The Bard is responsible for many phrases and sayings that survive in one form or another in today's language although often misquoted or delivered in a bit of a mix and match format. The best known include a fool's paradise, all's well that ends well, as dead as a doornail, fair play, in a pickle, in stitches, neither a borrower nor a lender be, the crack of doom, truth will out and wild goose chase. These seem remarkably fresh even today which is testament to the influence exerted by Shakespeare on the English Language not just in the mother country but throughout the world as English became established on a global scale.
By the 1700's and 1800's spoken and written English was regarded as being so much more refined than in previous ages and this is no more evident than in the classic novels and major literary tomes of that time. We are all familiar with Bronte and Austen being staple components of many an education and more recently in the movie adaptations of their greatest works and the depiction of their alternately gallant and feckless heroes and herioines.
Many of the storylines were again, of the privileged and wealthy gentry and it took the likes of Charles Dickens to bring about a bit of realism, grit and plain ugliness into the spoken word. He was also the master of inventiveness, humour and mischief and these qualities were seen in abundance in his larger than life characters.
My own introduction to Dickens was from the shelf of leather bound volumes at my Grandparents house which I secreted away whenever I went to stay as a child. These were no doubt purchased on a monthly basis from a travelling salesman or through a book club. Under the candlewick bedspread by torchlight the tales and personalities came alive assisted by graphic pencil illustrations amongst the thick yellowing paper pages of the main scenes from Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and Great Expectations.
My later schoolyears involved studying Thomas Hardy and I was again enthralled by the wordiness and intricacies of his long descriptive sentences and complicated story lines. It was quite hard work wading through Tess of the D'urbervilles and Far From the Madding Crowd but made easier by big screen versions from the late sixties and seventies.
The twentieth century saw further fluidity in language and words not just in print but increasingly in other media including film and television. Stereotypes developed with each decade in style and speech with 1920's flappers, 1930's clipped speech, 1940's Americanisms, 1950's post war austerity, 1960's liberalism and 1970's social and economic upheaval. By the 1980's it was yuppie time and this persisted into the 1990's and the decades towards the millenium of the dominance of the computer and mobile phone as a source of new words and slang.
Social Media is the main channel of communication and trend setting for the current generation and this has led to the acceleration in yet more new words and phrases.
The authoratative work, the Slang Dictionary is the proving ground and test bed for new language before general acceptance and formal documentation in the Oxford English Dictionary. There are new entries of slang and colloquialisms on a monthly basis.
The listing of a slang expression is determined by its use beyond that of the localised employment of a few friends; in due course these localised expressions may gain greater popularity and achieve expanded regional, national or even global recognition, however it is only at that time that they will be included in the dictionary.
We should be aware that there is a large volume of slang to be encountered through the media such as television, film and press, which invariably increase the reference points but genuinely remain outside of personal use. These media promoted expressions may in due course be adopted into our vernacular, and as such, when they can be confirmed as in use, then they will be listed at that time.
With repeated exposure, via film, television and music, the volume of North American slang we hear in the UK is vast, but a large percentage is still to make inroads into the forefront of British use.
What sort of database are we establishing now for future generations to use or regard as quaint bits of heritage? Here are a few picked at random;
abdabs
absobloodylutely
babe magnet
cack
dischuffed
exactamundo
fabtastic
gaydar
happy clappy brigade
in the niff
peanut smuggling
rellies
wass-up?
yummy mummy
Given the speed of new language the above may just seem like gobblygook within a matter of just a few days...........if not already.
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