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submitted 4 months ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/science_memes@mander.xyz

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[-] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 8 points 4 months ago

So.

Hypothetically.

If start using “squiggy” to mean “the excited tremors or shaking puppies, kittens and small kids do when they are very excited”….

Is that enough? Or do I need to get my nephew in on it?

[-] Tlaloc_Temporal@lemmy.ca 9 points 4 months ago

You'll probably need to get more people in on it if you want it to be in a dictionary, but "enough" is really just the people you talk to.

Lots of families and friend groups have their own words, usually powered by inside jokes. Sometimes those words get picked up and spread around the neighborhood or even the town, and sometimes they manage to enter popular culture, thus slang is born.

So enough might just be your nephew, or enough might be everyone who's ever posted a dog picture.

[-] ulterno@lemmy.kde.social 3 points 4 months ago

On the other hand, you can write and publish your own dictionary.

It's just about how many people buy it.
Even better if a school does,

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

[-] pyre@lemmy.world 1 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

for you, it's enough; for a dictionary, that's their decision. dictionary is not a law book. it's not a religious book either. it is not ordained by god. it's just a report of what words the speakers of a language use. which words are included or not are arbitrary and editorial decisions. what do you think makes the "cut" in a small pocket dictionary with 2000 words vs a bigger dictionary with 10,000 words? do you think once you publish the pocket dictionary, 8000 words stop being legit?