A rose by any other name

Words convey information. When I was in high school, I took Latin. One of the benefits of Latin as a universal language, is it doesn't evolve with additions to the vocabulary. Caeser would be able to attend a Latin class and participate. While Shakespeare might have a bit of trouble with the current use of English.

Which brings me to the Merriam Webster Open Dictionary. Peter Sokolowski noted five new words in his blog article. Mr. Sokolowski encourages us to participate in the ever growing lexicon : "When you notice a new word — on the radio, in a book or magazine, or online — and discover that it’s not in the dictionary, then it’s a good candidate for Merriam-Webster’s Open Dictionary."

I thought about the book Frindle by Andrew Clements. Amazon's Booklist review describes the story:

Ten-year-old Nick Allen has a reputation for devising clever, time-wasting schemes guaranteed to distract even the most conscientious teacher. His diversions backfire in Mrs. Granger's fifth-grade class, however, resulting in Nick being assigned an extra report on how new entries are added to the dictionary. Surprisingly, the research provides Nick with his best idea ever, and he decides to coin his own new word. Mrs. Granger has a passion for vocabulary, but Nick's (and soon the rest of the school's) insistence on referring to pens as "frindles" annoys her greatly. The war of words escalates--resulting in after-school punishments, a home visit from the principal, national publicity, economic opportunities for local entrepreneurs, and, eventually, inclusion of frindle in the dictionary. Slightly reminiscent of Avi's Nothing but the Truth (1991), this is a kinder, gentler story in which the two sides eventually come to a private meeting of the minds and the power of language triumphs over both. Sure to be popular with a wide range of readers, this will make a great read-aloud as well. Kay Weisman

You can find Frindle at your nearest Library by using WorldCat.