English is not an easy language. You can probably think of many examples that would confuse a non-English speaker to no end. And then we go and create more.
Each year, new words are added to the dictionary. Usually these are words that people have been using for a while and the dictionary is catching up to what has been in regular use. Although sometimes, things get changed… just because.
The other day, a friend was on a Facebook rant because someone had changed the usage of a word. He did not like it and was making sure the rest of the world knew. All this for one word. It was a word that is in common use, but in this case, they had changed it from a noun to a verb.
I won’t say this same situation doesn’t bother me. They have taken one short word and replaced it with another that you wouldn’t normally use in that situation. And it’s not really an uncommon thing.
It’s common enough that there is even a word for it. More than one. You can call it anthimeria, using one part of speech as another. It can also be referred to as denominalization. The act of converting a noun into a verb.
In this case, the person complaining about an advertisement that uses the word “chef” as a verb. As in everyone can chef, meaning they can all cook.
In my mind, the word does not fit properly, but that could be because it is just so unfamiliar. Just because someone for some reason decided to use it in a new way doesn’t mean I wouldn’t get used to it.
But the person on Facebook wasn’t having it.
Like I said, at first I agreed with him. Then I thought about it. I even googled it and discovered there is not just one term, but many terms to describe changing words in this way. Obviously, this isn’t a new thing. It is something that happens fairly often. Language is not a static thing.
So I’m willing to accept it. And I don’t think I’m in the demographic they were aiming for anyway.
I guess some of us need to chill. Which, if you’re wondering, wasn’t a verb until the late 70s or early 80s.
