Posted on 12/11/2021 7:38:03 AM PST by DoodleBob
There’s an ad out right now for Google’s Chromebook laptop with a slogan that says, “Switch to a new way to laptop.” While I’m hesitant to disparage any of our digital overlords for fear of being stricken from search results, I feel obligated to take a stand. You can’t “laptop” something; “laptop” isn’t a verb.
While I try my hardest to keep things positive here at Grammar Guy H.Q., certain things grate my grammar gears. While I’ve touched on the “verbification” of nouns before, I haven’t explored how marketers and company names have verbified nouns ad nauseam.
I know I’ve seen other versions of brazen verbification in the oversaturated commercial environment in which we live, but the Google example really made me want to laptop someone in the face.
Of course, it’s every modern company’s goal to become a verb themselves. While Bing (Microsoft’s search engine) tried hard to make “Bing” a verb, people still “Google” queries into search engines (usually Google). This made me wonder—what other company names have become verbs due to their overwhelming popularity?
When you owe a friend money these days, you don’t write them a check. You probably don’t even have cash. Instead you “Venmo” or “PayPal” them the money from your bank account into theirs.
This brings up another confusing point: do you keep the verbified company name capitalized? According to AP and Chicago stylebooks the answer is “yes,” although you’ll find the word “Google” as a verb lowercase (“google”) in many online dictionaries. The capitalization situation is in flux; stand by as this phenomenon evolves.
The official word nerd term for converting a noun into a verb is “denominalization.” While I don’t mind this word, I prefer “verbification” or even “verbing.” I like the irony of taking the noun “verb” and verbing it.
Have you talked to someone using a video feature on your smartphone? Chances are you either Skyped or FaceTimed with them. For some reason “video chat” or “video call” doesn’t suffice. Lately, we’ve Zoomed many of our meetings, Ubered our way home from a night out with friends and Instagrammed photos of our dogs. This is what modern companies dream of: make your product so ubiquitous that people use its name in place of a more descriptive-yet-common verb.
Until these company names become genericized (think chapstick, kleenex and thermos), I suggest capitalizing these verbified, trademarked words. If you disagree with me, feel free to conduct your own search engine research on a leading internet website.
Everyone should contact this guy to express support.
In English it seems that any noun can be ‘verb-ed’ (<— see?)
These are trivial compared to “preferred pronoun” BS and using “they” and “theirs” as singular pronouns.
Ha ha.
We should GrammarGuy all such terms.
-PJ
Doesn’t bother me nearly as much as “I’m like” and “he was like” for “I said” and “he said.”
“Really” as a filler word drives me crazy. People can’t seem to say anything without inserting a “really” or two.
The spoken language has definitely deteriorated.
When I was learning English...if I’d split an infinitive they’d have washed my mouth with soap and that was not too long ago.
Or “monica-ed” (yeah, that’s a bit harsh)
I am going to xerox this and send it to family and friend.
Oldsters remember the use of “xerox” as a verb.
More immediately, since we’re sharing: how about the misuse of “mandate” to mean “require” when the word really has more to do with the granting of authority.
And another Covid-related place to start might be with the very simple difference between “less” and “fewer”
This is a fight you cannot win, Grammar Guy.
It’s been going on for centuries.
Ancient verbs such as rain, snow, and thunder along with more recent converts like oil, pressure, referee, bottle, debut, audition, highlight, diagnose, critique, email, and mastermind all have nouns and verbs associated with the action, thing and action a person might take.
In the 19th Century, Bicycle became bike and then biking...
Computers begot computing...
Text begot texting...
Throw in some innuendo and you got sexting.
It never ends.
Oh, I hate this. “I can’t adult today!”, etc. There are a couple that really bug (oops, did it myself) me, that I don’t recall at the moment due to my superannuation.
Add “gift” to the list of nouns that became verbs.
How about people whose answer to every question begins with “So...”?
Then through the 90s it became a badge of honor to talk like an idiot..."let's dialogue on this matter"..."Napster makes it easy to pirate music".
The West is lost.
The purpose of language is communication, and new words are required over time. Grammar also evolves.
This guy probably got a lot of wedgies in school. He needs to find a new hobby.
Maybe we can start a new one, like Kamaling your way to the top, and then sucking at the job?
-PJ
I agree.
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