Zen and the Art of Word Creation

Abstract

Ever since Horace defended his right to “add a few words to the stock,” and a character in Shakespeare’s 1607 play “Coriolanus” proclaimed “So shall my Lungs Coine words till their decay,” word creation has been a subject of great interest, and controversy as well. What was once considered a dubious practice has become prestigious. “Coined by” is a prized phrase to have before one’s name. The supply of neologisms therefore far outstrips demand. Many are coined, few are chosen. Coined words are like salmon eggs: few hatch, fewer mature, and only a handful make it upstream. The ways in which they are created is surprisingly anarchic, analogous to the chaotic process by which the solar system was born. One might even postulate a Chaos Theory of Word Creation in which usable neologisms pop up unpredictably, strike a chord, then take their place in the verbosphere.