The Importance of Language Play
We’ve written many times about the importance of having fun with language, and my recent linguistic adventures have got me thinking about an important aspect of language play: making up words. I often tell my students that when they don’t know a word in the target language, they should try to say the same thing using other words. So if the can’t remember the word “plate”, they might say something like “the round thing for food”. Alternatively, making up words can be lots of fun!
Guessing New Words
One of the best ways to learn a language is to just speak it, and to embrace the fact that you will make many mistakes. And once you have the basics down, you can usually make educated guesses about words that fall into similar categories.
For example, the English suffix “er” as in “farmer”, “worker”, etc. can either be “ero” or “ador” in Spanish (“farmer” is “granjero” and “worker” is “trabajador”). When I was living in Spain, I once referred to myself as a “viajadora” (traveller) instead of the correct “viajera” which my friends thought was hilarious. Around the same time I mistakenly translated “ridiculous” to “ridiculoso” instead of the correct “ridículo”, so I became known as la viajadora ridiculosa!
Those were honest mistakes and, instead of getting frustrated, I laughed and learned from them. As a language learner, sometimes you have to just slap a smile on your face, throw your hands up in the air, and exclaim “how fascinating!”
Creating Words for Fun
The next level is when you know a word doesn’t exist, but your grasp of the language is good enough that you can invent words that follow the right rules. For example, in Peru “trocha” is a rugged dirt road, so I once told my friend that I needed to find a driver that was an expert in “trochería”. I used the suffix “ería” which is the equivalent of “ry” in English as in “dentistry”. I knew trochería wasn’t a real word but I also knew it would make my friend smile. We subsequently used the word all the time. If it ever makes it into the Spanish dictionary, you heard it here first!
These days, I am inventing Spanish and Spanglish words pretty often with my baby. Most of them are too embarrassing to include here but one of my latest favourites is “chunkitín”. It’s a cross between the English word “chunky” and the Spanish word “chiquitín”, meaning “tiny” or “tot”.
Creating Words for Real
Not all languages have all words, and sometimes there is a real need to create new words to meet new needs. This is the case for some Indigenous languages going through a process of revitalization. Many Indigenous communities form some kind of language committee to determine new vocabulary and phrases. For example, last year several new mental health terms were added to the Maori glossary including a word for “autism”. If you are learning a language that does not have a formal language committee and you are trying to create a new word, the recommendation is to consult with elders and other knowledge-keepers for input into linguistically appropriate terms, and to collaborate with your language community to agree on a word that everyone will use.