{"id":3618,"date":"2004-11-30T20:58:01","date_gmt":"2004-12-01T00:58:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/the-word-blog-our-language-legacy\/"},"modified":"2008-12-06T12:31:13","modified_gmt":"2008-12-06T17:31:13","slug":"the-word-blog-our-language-legacy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/the-word-blog-our-language-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"the word “blog” (our language legacy)"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

. . an excerpt from <\/span><\/em>Does Blog Jargon Turn Off Outsiders?<\/span><\/em><\/a> (Oct. 1, 2003)<\/span><\/p>\n

Here, in the afterglow of BloggerCon2003, w<\/span>e don’t know how the weblogging phenomenon will affect our global society.\u00a0\u00a0 There is one thing for certain, though:\u00a0 the <\/span>(r)evolutions\u00a0in internet and digital communication, technology and\u00a0uses will continue.\u00a0\u00a0 And those who participate will be either actively or passively creating and passing on a Language Legacy, <\/strong>as names\u00a0are assigned to new and unfolding concepts, constructs, and wrinkles.\u00a0\u00a0(Indeed, the entire — non-French — world\u00a0tends to\u00a0accept the web terminology that is most often born here in America.)\u00a0\u00a0Shouldn’t there be, along with that legacy,<\/span> <\/span>An <\/strong>Ethics and Aesthetics of Language Creation?<\/strong> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We have an obligation to craft a nomenclature that makes sense within the context of our langage and that — as much as possible — is aesthetically pleasing (easy on the ears and eyes). <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, language must and should evolve, but new words and terminology should be built upon root forms that have some meaning within the history of our language.\u00a0 “Automobile” made sense (a vehicle that moves by itself — no horses needed, with the root words being the Greek for self and the Latin for move).\u00a0 “Telephone” has its roots in the Greek words for distant and voice.\u00a0\u00a0 Even a techie term like “kluge” has real roots in an actual\u00a0language, as explained <\/span>here<\/span><\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0 (It’s the German word for clever and is used when one has found a clever, even if homely,\u00a0way to solve a problem with the tools on hand.)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In contrast, “blog” has no linguistic, historical, or cultural frame of reference.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps, most teens (or even aging geeks) don’t care whether the jargon they create has lasting linguistic appeal — indeed, they often want<\/em> to use terminology that is edgy, offensive or cliquish.\u00a0\u00a0 But language-lovers and serious users of words should<\/em> care — as should those who want the new concepts and tools of technology to be readily accessible to a broad public. <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

There is no good reason to leave a language legacy such as the four-letter word “blog”.<\/strong> Here’s some history of the terminology: <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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  • The term “blog” was\u00a0coined by Peter Merholz<\/strong>, at <\/span>peterme.com<\/span><\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0 Here’s Peter’s explanation for it (emphasis added): <\/span>
    \n

    [In April or May of 1999] I posted, in the sidebar of my homepage: “For What It’s Worth I’ve decided to pronounce the word “weblog” as wee’- blog.\u00a0 Or “blog” for short.”<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    “I didn’t think much of it. I was just being silly<\/span>, shifting the syllabic break one letter to the left.\u00a0 I started using the word in my posts, and some folks, when emailing me, would use it, too. I enjoyed it’s crudeness, it’s dissonance<\/span>… <\/span> <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    I like that it’s roughly onomatopoeic of vomiting<\/span>. These sites (mine included!) tend to be a kind of information upchucking<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n


    \n<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    ‘Blog’ would have likely died a forgotten death had it not been for one thing: In August of 1999, Pyra Labs released Blogger. And with that, the use of “blog” grew with the tool’s success. <\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    \n
  • Not long thereafter, Brad L. Graham<\/strong> of <\/span>Bradlands<\/span><\/strong><\/a>‘ wrote: “It’s Peter Fault<\/strong>.\u00a0 A year ago, “weblog” was hardly a common word . .. Then the supremely urbane Peter Merholz decided it would be fun to pronounce “weblog” as “wee’blog” and I thought that was kind of cute. Then folks started truncating that<\/em> to merely “<\/span>blog<\/span>” and — ugh! — it’s stuck! <\/span> . . . So, now then. Where are we headed?\u00a0 . . . Is blog- (or -blog) poised to become the prefix\/suffix of the next century? Will we soon suffer from (and tire of) blogorreah?\u00a0 Despite its whimsical provenance, it’s an awkward, homely little word<\/span>. <\/span>\n