The evolution of language

The are always interesting new words making their way in to languages. In recent years, I have seen all sorts of new words arrive, often driven by new technology. But I had never thought about these being a phenomenon in languages other than English.

So from Dutch News today comes the fact that 'breezersletje', meaning a woman who will exchange sexual favours for a drink, is one of 3,650 new Dutch words in the Van Dale dictionary. Others include tomtommen – to use a car satellite navigation system – and asobak (literally: antisocial car) for an SUV.

You don't really need to understand Dutch that much to translate the first of the new words. Certainly not a family word, but nonethless an insight in to a vocabulary that obviously has reached a critical mass of usage.

And if you ever hear someone seemingly hipper than you using a word you are not sure about, no need to feel like a social outcast or have to embarrassingly ask what it means. The Urban Dictionary can be your source of rescue - a user built online dictionary that has sort of words I seem to have missed! (Although today's featured word - 'crackberry' - is one I have come across)

Shane