Bumpster, muggle, cyberslacker and hacktivist - new words continually pop up in books, newspapers and magazines as well as on television, radio and the internet. Some words become trendy and then fall out of use. Others (like the ones mentioned above) make it into the dictionary. There are tens of thousands of words in the English language and more are added all the time. But where do all these words come from? Many English words come from other languages such as Greek, Latin, French, Italian, Spanish, Hindi, Japanese and even Chinese. These so-called 'borrowed' words - cafe latte, sushi, tai chi, to name just a few - are often used for foreign things that become popular in Britain and the United States. Some borrowed words have been in the English language for centuries. Words such as government, crime and charity are French words that entered the language after William the Conqueror invaded England (1066). And others such as history, polite and maturity are Latin words that were adapted to English spelling. American words have also made their mark on British English due to America's global influence on technology and entertainment. For example, words such as nerd and geek are now almost as common in Britain and other English-speaking countries as they are in the US. Foreign words aren't the only source of new additions. Many words are made by combining words or parts of words, for example, chat room and edutainment (a mixture of education and entertainment). Another way to create a word is to add a prefix or a suffix to an existing word. Thanks to prefixes and suffixes, we can talk about cyberland, globalisation, multi-tasking and brainiacs (people who study and think a lot, but have no social skills). Even words that remain the same can take on new meanings. At one time, surfing just meant riding the waves on a board, but now you can surf the Net. And the verb lurk is not only used for suspicious characters who hide in dark alleys, but also for people who enter chat rooms, read what others are writing, but don't participate. Of course some words are completely new and have been invented to keep up with the changing times. In the 21st century, developments in business, entertainment, science and technology have resulted in a slew of new words. How would we survive without dot-com, genetically modified, help desk and personal digital assistant (PDA)? So how do new words make it into the dictionary? According to dictionary publishers, monitoring changes in the language is a central part of their work. Researchers are paid to scan a range of sources such as books, journals, newspapers, magazines, comics, Websites, and TV, film and radio scripts for new words that appear regularly in the media. But only those that have caught on among a significant section of the population make it into the dictionary. Some recent additions to contemporary dictionaries include bumpsters, Canto-pop, mini-me, muggle, Tiggerish and the acronym Sars. Do you know what they mean? Find out and then see if your friends can guess their meaning.
