[Ads-l] "inbox" as a verb?

[Jonathan Lighter]

So why not just say the immediately comprehensible "I'll e-mail you"?

JL

On Tue, Feb 14, 2017 at 3:25 PM, Shawnee Moon <moon.shawnee at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I have been reading books about the evolution of the English language. I
> like the new terminologies, because it simplifies language, telling someone
> you'll "inbox" them is like saying you'll message them, only it refers to
> email (which refers to electronic mail). For A meaning that needs no
> description or artistry, it's just a quicker way to say something. Like
> nodding your head, it says what you mean with as few words as possible, in
> that case, with none at all.  It's like Google, it's now a verb: "I googled
> my name." New words come in all the time, and take on new roles in
> language. I think we notice them because the frequency is perhaps higher
> than in the past, with communication happening globally at nearly light
> speed. That and the lack of formality, and the abbreviated way people
> communicate in text messages. "JMHO"
>
> In a book or article, something meant to express an idea or tell a story,
> longer descriptions are better, it's different. It's not conversational,
> it's writing. It's an art. I wouldn't want to read a book written in
> "textese." It's almost like deciphering a rebus.
>
> When I write, however, I have to go back and edit out words like "shan't"
> and phrases like "on the morrow" which are archaic. I don't know where that
> comes from since I don't talk like that and am under 150 years old...
>
> Mailed from the Moon 🌜
>
> > On Feb 14, 2017, at 8:12 AM, James A. Landau <JJJRLandau at NETSCAPE.COM>
> wrote:
> >
> > Seen on Facebook:
> >
> > "I need to inbox you about freelancing, by the way."
> >
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org