Verbing - The Process of Turning Nouns Into Verbs

In a single work day, we might head a task force, eye an opportunity, nose around for good ideas, mouth a greeting, elbow an opponent, strong-arm a colleague, shoulder the blame, stomach a loss, and finally, perhaps,  hand in our resignation. What were doing with all those body parts is called verbing--using nouns (or occasionally other parts of speech) as verbs. Verbing is a time-honored way of coining new words out of old ones, the etymological process of conversion (or functional shifting). Sometimes its also a kind of wordplay (anthimeria), as in Shakespeares King Richard the Second when the Duke of York says, Grace me no grace, and uncle me no uncles. Does Verbing Weird Language? Calvin and Hobbes once discussed verbing in Bill Wattersons great comic strip: Calvin: I like to verb words.​Hobbes: What?Calvin: I take nouns and adjectives and use them as verbs. Remember when access was a thing? Now its something you do. It got verbed. . . . Verbing weirds language.Hobbes: Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding. Echoing Hobbes, countless language mavens have decried the practice of verbing--a filthy habit according to an editorial in Britains Guardian newspaper 20 years ago: Let us now resolve to bury . . . a practice which, in the closing months of the year, seemed increasingly to be defacing the English language: the pressing of decent defenceless nouns, which have gone about their business for centuries without giving the mildest offence or provocation, into service as verbs, sometimes in their original form but quite often after a process of horrible mutilation. Evidence of mutilated neologisms at that time included gift, diary, fax, fixture, message, example, and a doughnut  -- all functioning as verbs. Even the affable Richard Lederer has expressed impatience (or was he impatiented?) with verbing: We ought to accept new words that add color or vigor, but lets short-shrift the ones that dont. Wed like to guilt some writers and speakers into the habit of using words better instead of creating mutants the language doesnt need.(Richard Lederer and Richard Downs, The Write Way: The S.P.E.L.L. Guide to Real-Life Writing. Simon and Schuster, 1995) Love em or loathe em, a number of nouns have recently verbed their way into our conversations and dictionaries, including to contact, to impact, to access, to party, to author, to transition, to privilege, and to workshop. Verbing Makes English English New forms of words--as well as new uses for old words--take some getting used to. But the truth is, if those forms and uses stick around for awhile, we do get used to them. Psychologist Steven Pinker estimates that up to a fifth of English verbs are derived from nouns--including such ancient verbs as rain, snow, and thunder along with more recent converts like oil, pressure, referee, bottle, debut, audition, highlight, diagnose, critique, email, and mastermind. In fact, Pinker reminds us, easy conversion of nouns to verbs has been part of English grammar for centuries; it is one of the processes that make English English (The Language Instinct, 1994). For your amusement or annoyance, lets close (a 13th-century verb that became a noun a century later) with a few contemporary specimens of verbing: When the smart guys started this business of securitizing things that didnt even exist in the first place, who was running the firms they worked for?(quoted by Calvin Trillin in Wall Street Smarts. The New York Times, October 13, 2009)We talked about the project. We dialogued--passionately yet civilly--remembering our earlier discussions about the need for all of us to practice active listening, agree to disagree, . . . using I think and I feel statements, solicit others opinions, and practice the Platinum Rule of treating others how they want to be treated. We dialogued and dialogued.(Christine M. Cress et al., Learning Through Serving: A Student Guidebook for Service-Learning Across the Disciplines. Stylus Publishing, 2005)It takes a certain kind of teacher to turn a teenage student who regularly truanted PE lessons into a county athlete in a matter of months.(Liz Ford, New Teachers and Old, Excelling All Round. The Guardian, July 3, 2007)For sports lovers, you can try to get a bat or a golf club personally signatured by one of their favorite sportspersons, which is bound to be a real treat.(Exotic Christmas Gift Ideas at the website Christmas Gifts Guide, 2009)An amateur baseball powerhouse, Cuba joined the tournament in 1939 and immediately beat Nicaragua for the title. Since then, it has won 25 titles in 37 tournaments and has medaled 29 times.(Benjamin Hoffman, U.S. in Contention at 2009 Baseball World Cup. The New York Times, September 19, 2009) In 10 or 20 years well revisit these upstart verbs to see how many have gained full admittance to the language.

What Are The Five Characteristics Of A Quest - 1901 Words

Daniel Morrow AP Lit and Composition 7/21/14 HTRLLAP Study Guide 1.) What are the five characteristics of a quest A person doing the quest, a destination, a reason to go, obstacles in their way, a reason for the person on the quest to go (morals?) 2.) 3.) Complete this sentence about communion In the real world breaking bread together is an act of sharing and peace, since if you are breaking bread you aren’t breaking heads 4.) Why does Foster assert that a meal scene in literature is almost always symbolic? We already know about food so a meal scene being about the food would be redundant, so a meal scene is not about the food, there always has to be some underlying meaning or message in the meal scene 5.) What can eating in literature represent Eating in literature can represent the ideas of life and morality, it can also represent humanity because the act of a â€Å"communion† is a humane act in itself. 6.) Positive Communion 7.) Negative Communion 8.) What are the essentials of a vampire story? An older person violating a younger person, a mark left on the victim (bite marks), the taking of their innocence (they are no longer young and helpless, seek out own victims), some sort of sexual references, the outdated values of the â€Å"vampire†, victims lose their youth, energy, and virtue becoming more like the vampire, eventually leading to death 9.) What do vampires and ghosts represent besides vampirism? They can represent being selfish, exploiting others for their ownShow MoreRelatedThe Journies of Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Essay803 Words   |  4 PagesEnglish history. In the two poems, both Beowulf and Sir Gawain face great challenges in their journeys as heroes. Beowulf embarks on a quest to defeat Grendel and his mother while Sir Gawain faces many difficulties on his search for the Green Knight. 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God vs. Evil free essay sample

God, like Adam and Eve, suffered consequences. Genesis 3:14-17, God says: â€Å"Because you did this†¦Ã¢â‚¬  referring to the serpent who tempted Eve, then to Eve, and finally to Adam, â€Å"Because you did†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Humankind invited the existence of Evil into the goodness of God’s creation. No longer did God walk in the breeze of the Garden of Eden; no longer did God remain in the actual presence of humankind. No longer did Adam and Eve enjoy the comforts of the Garden, like God, they too were cast out. With their newfound awareness and understanding, Adam and Eve were sent into the reality of all else outside of the Garden. Where other humans and animals did not know God, they did not obey God. Adam and Eve became the first Creation of good to endure the duality of Good and Evil. It was the existence of Evil which made its home in the world outside of the Garden. Natural evil took its rightful hold upon the wonder of the earth before God’s children lived in its presence. The cause of suffering Adam and Eve were innocent to, and yet the grey clouds of cognizance beckoned their attention. It was an actuality quickly seen and felt upon entry. The eating of the Tree of Knowledge instilled wisdom fit for the gods came with a responsibility God was not ready for. As creatures of God, there were consequences Adam and Eve now had to bear. Cast into the world full of â€Å"Natural evil†, they soon discovered their newfound awareness highlighted a different kind of evil: â€Å"Moral evil† (Pojman, Rea. 277). As children of God made in God’s image, their breath of life given by God, Adam and Eve were distinct individuals in this world of Natural evil and chaos. They were given the gift of free-will, the gift to choose their morality, choose their ethic, and their values. Outside of Eden, they were no longer creations untouched by these evils, protected by the Creator God. Eating of the Tree of Knowledge became a blessing and a curse. They now understood the difference between right and wrong, good and bad. Moral evil is introduced into the world when Adam and Eve’s son, Cain, killed his brother Abel in Genesis 4:8. The lessons of moral responsibility catapulted the pure creation of God into the stark reality of God’s separation from them. If God is omniscient, omnipotent, perfectly good, and wholly love, then God created that which God could exist around and within. Evil exists outside of that creation. Hence, God could no longer walk amongst creation; God could not prevent the creation of something God did not create. Though, the essence of God withstands within God’s children. As Adam and Eve produced within the world of duality, God’s essence endured. Humankind’s free-will allowed for the development of soul-making; a â€Å"movement†¦from one level of existence, that of animal life (Bios), to another land higher level, that of eternal life (Zoe)† (Pojman, Rea. 350). It is the journey Adam and Eve’s children faced, upon the exit of Eden. Jews call it the punishment of their defiance; a battle of the evil created within their own hearts. Christians called it the battle between good and evil; God and the devil’s battle for souls. Muslims call it the battle of the jihad; both inner and exterior. All of which refer to evil being separate from God and God’s creation. Yet, when tragedy strikes, when harm or death comes to those that gain nothing more than the lessons of pain and suffering; people of all raise their fists to God. It is easy to forget the transition that took place following the exit of Eden. Just as humankind was separated, God was separated. It was the will of the human heart. And, with the god-like wisdom gained from the Tree of Knowledge, humankind was instilled with conscience and accountability. Natural evil in a living world is unavoidable but Moral evil, no matter the extent is avoidable and it is wholly human. It is the unknown, the unanswered, and the misunderstood that people cry out to God for. For the Jews, Christians, and Muslims, God has heeded the call. A savior, a prophet, the Word, the lifestyle of worship through piety and humility; were given to create faith, hope, and restore confidence in God’s promise to creation. The defeat of death, the promise of life, and the end of suffering is the agreement God made with creation. Though, without the duality of Good and Evil, there would not be a need for this agreement. There would not be a need for a savior, for a revelation, for a new beginning in which God re-creates a world without evil. If Evil was within God’s control and creation, then God would not need to defeat it. If the unknown is wrapped with the understanding of death and God created it, there would be no need to overcome it. The problem with Evil is that it exists outside of God. All major religions that reflect a dualistic relation between good and evil are in effect building upon the separation between God and creation. Catering to the ‘battle’ between good and evil identifies that good exists outside of evil and vise-versa. Both can exist independent of each other, and both can cease, independent of each other. Perhaps the unprepared God in the Garden of Eden did not expect the pure Creation to defy the rules so effortlessly. Perhaps God, being of pure love, is omniscient and omnipotent within the boundary of the original Creation. Yet, because the essence of God is within all that came from the line of Adam and Eve, God is able to remain omniscient and omnipotent at the distance of separation each creation gives. Hence, there is no interference. It is a part of our curse, being conscious to the duality in life. Being that God’s Creation created, and as Creation, we are simply exercising the gifts God gave as God made within God’s own image. By the choice of free-will, we are able to commit Moral evil; we are able to embody the will of Evil itself. It is logical and reasonable to accept the possibility that Evil exists beyond the realm of God’s entire creation. Written in the creation story grounded within the three largest Monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; the Tree of Knowledge bore a fruit which enlightened the innocent ignorance of humankind. God laid out the consequences to the act made by the serpent, Eve, and Adam; consequences that were already in existence and simply unveiled to the eyes of the created. It was not a punishment; it was merely the truth of reality. The understanding that outside of the love and will of God stood Evil, the contrast and enemy of all God was and will always be. We, as individuals, are bestowed with the duty to maintain our connection to God, in order to see the fulfillment of God’s promise; to defeat Evil forever. Works Cited Pojman, Louis, and Michael Rea. Philosophy of Religion: An Anthology. 6th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2012. P. 277, 350. Print. Bible, English Standard Version 2001. Biblos, 2011. Web. 21 May 2012. lt;http://www. biblos. com/gt;.