Working Knowledge

WORKING KNOWLEDGE WorkingKnowledgeis a forum for commentary on problems of lexicography. The short papers in this section are meant to be free-ranging and reasonably unconstrained in approach and style. WorkingKnowledgeprovides space to engage in focused discussion of critical , on-going issues that are, presumably, already on lexicographers' minds. The 2007 forum concerns neologism. Seven individuals with recognized standing in the field have contributed their current thoughts on neology (and one paper is bilingually published, in Portuguese and English) . We learn in this forum about such matters as criteria for new word selection, ways of tracking new words, decisions about what is in and what is out, the tyranny of frequency, Internet dominance, the relation of neology to language change in general, and social and cultural factors in coinage and documentation. The 2007 forum is thus a kind of mini-primer on neologism's persistence. One thing is clear from the discussion : life-coached, sploitated, and 9-11'ed as we all are, we surely know that neology is, well. . ., very old. As I write these paragraphs, I note a new kind of shaving cream from the company Anthony, which provides "logistics for men" (sic). Shaving cream, after shave, deodorant, body wash — now that's what I call logisticsl I thought that trucking companies had commandeered that word, in their role as the new American logistics purveyors. No, wait! Aren't IT companies now logistics providers? (The word is unyieldingly plural, right? You cannot ask for a logistic and, unlike scissorhold andjean skirt, you cannot force singularization for the sake of compounding: ?? logisticprovider.) And then there is that company in Washington, DC that unpacks warehouses for firms that have bellied up — a reverse logistics company. Logistics must now mean 'any kind of organizational or transmissional support, or accessory essential to the completion of any activity ': the iiberappurtenance. I intend to request that the Executive Board of the Society change my title from Editor to Logistician of Dictionaries. Participation in Working Knowledge is by e-vite of the Logistician. Suggestions — bloviations — for future forums are encouraged. — WF Dictionaries:Journal oftheDictionary Sodety ofNorth America 28 (2007) ...