I like language...I just like the way it looks and the way it feels...

1. 65

   elisabeth reidposted 16 years ago

   the way it fits together like a painting. But there are some words that I like more than others: 'scintillate', 'languid', 'persnickety', even a few that are considered, well...not so nice.
   
   Then there are others that I really don't like at all: 'punt', 'smut'
   
   What are your favorites?  Non-favorites?
   
   Why?

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2. 58

   helpdeskianposted 16 years ago

   one of my favorite words used to be patriotism. This word unfortunately has now become on my dislike list in the past few years. I do like how powerful a word can become. Its amazing to me how one word can sort of stand for a whole cause!

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3. 72

   Inspirepubposted 16 years ago

   I like playing with words, for example where we have the word "uncouth", but not "couth", we start to use "couth".
   
   Actually, it used to be in common usage a few hundred years ago, so it doesn't count as a neologism.
   
   But turning "imbecile" into "becile". A genius is such a "becile". Or "so becile" - because it sounds better as an adjective, doncha think?
   
   I use very different sets of words for poetry, formal writing, and casual forum and email chat, so I'd need several lists of favourites.
   
   I am also a fan of "The Meaning of LIff", and we have adopted "bognor" and "wimbledon" into the family lexicon.

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   1. 66

      darksideposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      I spent two whole weeks with this guy on a trip to Tasmania to do a job and every day we'd come up with a whole batch of new words. we'd work it into conversation with each other and try and figure out what the other person was saying.
      
      I don't recall using 'becile' but I'm sure we would have been mightily impressed with that one.
      
      Here's a few (I've just dug up an old Word doc that I had from typing some of them up one night at the motel room)...
      
      sheveled as opposed to disheveled
      gusting as opposed to disgusting
      turbed as opposed to disturbed
      fused as opposed to confused
      luded as opposed to deluded

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4. 72

   Inspirepubposted 16 years ago

   Oh, yes, we have "hevelled", as in "my, you're looking very hevelled this morning - special day?"
   
   Love the others you list - I mean, at a million plus words, English is just crying out to have more words created, LOL.
   
   Jenny
   
   P.S. It's not strictly correct, of course, because "dishevelled" comes from the French "deshabiller" - undressed, so "hevelled" would really just mean "clothed", if we stuck hard to the original root meaning. But then, where's the fun in that?

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