I’m no Angelina Jolie (on SO many levels), but today I supported my favorite cause and finalized adoption proceedings.
For a word.
A service of Oxford University Press (http://savethewords.org/), Adopt-A-Word seeks to bring back the hundreds of words that are dropped from the English language each year.
As noted on the site, these are “old words, wise words, hard-working words that once led meaningful lives, but now lie unused, unloved and unwanted.”
And it’s up to those of us who still care about language and the power of language to save them through their reintroduction in speech and writing.
Thus it is that I’m asking those of you who share my concern to share my example in adopting a word. After all, it’s easy to do, requires no monetary investment and won’t keep you up at night.
Oh, and my randomly chosen word? “Snollygoster.” As in: “It is up to the electorate to vote for honest candidates and not be taken in by snollygosters.”
If that isn’t a word that should be revived in 2012, nothing is!
