Sarah Palin ...What’s the big problem with refudiate? From Dictionary.com

Dictionary.com ^ | 07/20/10 | Dictionary.com The Hot Word

[American Dream 246]

Yesterday, Sarah Palin offered her opinion on a proposal to build a mosque in the vicinity of the September 11th site. Her words:

“Ground Zero Mosque supporters: doesn’t it stab you in the heart, as it does ours throughout the heartland? Peaceful Muslims, pls refudiate.”

This tweet is a pundit’s dream, a perfect storm for mud-slinging, flak, fuss, hurrahs, miffs, polemics, rows, rumpuses, and maybe some discussion.

Dictionary.com only cares about one word in the former Alaska governor’s message. Refudiate. Go ahead and look up refudiate on our site. Or any dictionary Web site for that matter. Nada, zilch.

There are a few ways to look at Sarah Palin’s use of “refudiate.” It’s clear that refute and repudiate are lurking in the background somewhere. One view is that it’s a non-word and sets a bad example for students of the English language. Palin’s response:

“‘Refudiate,’ ‘misunderestimate,’ ‘wee-wee’d up.’ English is a living language. Shakespeare liked to coin new words too. Got to celebrate it!”

“Misunderestimate” is a famous coinage by former President George W. Bush. “Wee-wee’d up” is a lexical creation by President Barack Obama. (Check out our previous take on a flub of Obama’s.)

Say what you will about her invocation of Shakespeare, but Palin raises a classic debate among linguists and lexicographers (people who create dictionaries). Dictionaries have always faced the dilemma whether to be prescriptive or descriptive. Is it the job of a dictionary to direct how words should be used, spelled, or pronounced, or should a dictionary simply document the current usage of the language?

When Palin, Bush and Obama coined their respective terms, they added neologisms (new words) to the messy, changing phenomenon we agree to call English. Whether a word transforms from a novelty into a standard part of our lexicon is a mysterious joy beyond the power of any politician, editor or individual to predict.

Commenter ”Pete Buick” deserves mention for pointing out a wonderful related term: malapropism, “an act or habit of misusing words ridiculously, esp. by the confusion of words that are similar in sound.” It’s up to you if you consider “refudiate” a malapropism or a simple corrigendum.

Weigh in: Do you think refudiate will end up in the dictionary? What do you make of Palin’s defense?

[2ndDivisionVet]

What other private citizen can launch a thousand columns with a Twitter or a blurb on her Facebook page? Anyone who thinks she won’t be the next president is dreaming.

[4rcane]

Your problem is googling it when this became an issue. Google is the the artibiter of truth. This word have been used before, long before Palin

[wastedyears]

BFD

It’s called a typo. Everybody makes them, especially when they type 40+ words per minute.

[freedumb2003]

>My favorite if the word “frutile.”

It was coined (as best I can gather) by the writers of The Dick Van Dyke Show back in the early 60s.

The word combines “fruitless” and “futile.”<<

LOL — I will use that in a sentence this week! :)

[2ndDivisionVet]

I invented Jourbalism and Jourbalist. Can you spot where they came from?

[jocon307]

Not sure about “refudiate” I’m thinking it’s too re-redundant.

I LOVE “misunderestimate” that really captures something that people do. In fact, aside from starting the war against radical islam (even if he’d never have said THAT) this word may be W’s lasting contribution.

Wee wee’d up I like also, because it’s like something my dad would have said.

[Niteflyr]

“frutile.”

I thought that was gaily colored ceramic squares...:o)

[James C. Bennett]

She shouldn’t have deleted the Twitter post where she used this word, to replace it with the one about how Shakespeare made up new words.

There was no need for her to have had to hide that.

[American Dream 246]

One of the comments (interesting 200 comments there) at dictionary.com:

Wilvus on July 19, 2010 at 1:14 pm

http://www.pbs.org/speak/words/trackthatword/ The Accidental Neologist

A person who creates new words, or makes a point of using them, is called a neologist. In his new book, Presidential Voices, author and noted linguist Allan Metcalf points out that to date, George W. Bush and Thomas Jefferson are front runners among presidential neologists. (Jefferson is said to have originated over 100 new words or phrases.) Metcalf believes whether we like it or not, we’re all accidental neologists – the nature of American English makes it impossible not to be. When we add prefixes and suffixes – such as an ism to a president’s name – we become neologists.

Thomas Jefferson thought it was not only necessary but desirable to create new words and expressions. In an 1820 letter to his old friend John Adams, Jefferson wrote:

am a friend to neology. It is the only way to give to a language copiousness and euphony. Without it we should still be held to the vocabulary of Alfred or of Ulphilas [nearly a thousand years earlier]; and held to their state of science also: for I am sure they had no words which could have conveyed the ideas of oxygen, cotyledons, zoophytes, magnetism, electricity, hyaline, and thousands of others expressing ideas not then existing, nor of possible communication in the state of their language.

What a language has the French become since the date of their revolution, by the free introduction of new words! The most copious and eloquent in the living world; and equal to the Greek, had not that been regularly modifiable almost ad infinitum….

[4rcane]

Google is NOT the arbiter of truth I mean. If you google this word now, all you get is story on Palin or that its not a word. Believe me, Palin didn’t make up this word. Its been used before because I remember seeing that word in an article and I did a word search myself. It sent me to a link that talked about how refudiate is acceptable usage and it gave me some other words that is common usage as well. I wish I could find that link again. Of course, now that the media have made it an issue on Palin, theres no way you’ll find links that dispute their argument

[James C. Bennett]

I thought the word was used on TV. I recall a news segment on her using the word in the video. YouTube might have the clip by now.

[P-Marlowe]

The word has been around for a while:

From Google Search:

The Lunatics of Terra - Google Books Result

John Sladek - 2005 - Fiction - 144 pages
'I refudiate that.' 'You what?' Jane felt suddenly cold all over. ... And how come he uses the word "refudiate" on TV and you use it five minutes later? ...
books.google.com/books?isbn=1587154102...

• Just Another Car In Europe? | BMW Motorcycle | BMW Auto

  Anyone care to validate or refudiate the "just another car" rumor? Thanks David 88 325ic http://e-opolis.net/325i/. Response: Don't forget, you're talking ...
  bmwauto.ottawa.on.ca/bmw.../just-another-car-in-europe-793176.html - Cached

• Anyone familiar with this concerning our Vets?

  13 posts - 10 authors - Last post: Sep 9, 2009

  Can you refudiate it? That is why I was asking. Refudiate it with the facts instead of getting upset. And if you don't like my posts then ...
  www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php?topic=8187.0 - Cached

  Get more discussion results

• Multi-Band Radar Detector [Archive] - Page 2 - Aussie Phorums

  And you appear to be a close minded fuckwit..... ah I knew you couldn't refudiate my statement .... Ahhh so "refudiate" is a word in your world..sorry. ...
  phorums.com.au/archive/index.php/t-237760-p-2.html - Cached

• Chow's Interview in Black Belt

  20 posts - 10 authors - Last post: Oct 15, 2007

  Write that book and print that picture in it and it is pretty hard to refudiate. Print an interview and it muddies the water," ...
  www.kenpotalk.com/forum/showthread.php?319-Chow-s...in... - Cached

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• Is it ok to torture someone who turns out to be innocent? - Page 5 ...

  10 posts - 5 authors - Last post: Jan 4

  ... because if you were too ignorant of the fact that the Intel Experts refudiate your claim, that it was no used to provide them to you? ...
  www.politicalforum.com/.../108726-ok-torture-someone-who-turns-out-innocent-5.html - Cached

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• Nick LeCompte (factperday) on Twitter

  Jun 28, 2010 ... "Words are coined on the spot, like “refudiate,” and regular words are used in ways that make sense only in context."(http://nyti.ms/akdZsN) ...
  twitter.com/factperday - Cached

[Clink]

Okay, since others have confessed, I will add my malapropism. In college I used the word "stypified" in a written report. (I don't know, I guess I was too lazy to use stipulated AND typified:)

The professor stypified stipulated that there was no such word.

[American Dream 246]

What other private citizen can launch a thousand columns with a Twitter or a blurb on her Facebook page? Anyone who thinks she won’t be the next president is dreaming.

Absolutely agree! Even the Guardian in UK has a full column about Sarah and "The" word... She is a pure genius! If she wanted to make sure her message would go across, she surely succeded...ahah...dear Sarah. She is so good! Even if it was accidental. It's hilarious how these libs are so stupid to fall for it again. Hope they'll keep on falling for it. Name recognition..

[shibumi]

I have made it part of my regular lexiconography. It’s amazing how many people will hear a soundlet like that (I have many such that I use in everydate speech) and assumate that it is really a word, and that it’s their vocabularation that is deficident.

[Niteflyr]

All I can say is “corpseman”...why don’t you haters go over to an Obama blog and give him hell for that one??

[JohnRLott]

“Repudiate” is a word and I am just as likely to assume that the person who made this claim up initially just misspelled what she said. So the person who heard this is claiming that they heard a “fu” rather than a “pu”? This is really trivial stuff, even if it is true.

[American Dream 246]

And what about the 57 states...not a word but still - the libs are still looking for the few states missing just to make sure they can agree with the one..ah..it’s getting frankly hilarious!

[Niteflyr]

And what about the 57 states...not a word

It's about beating up on Sarah Palin...the point of contention has nothing to do with it...

and I'm still looking for my "3000 percent reduction" in my insurance premiums at work also...

Sarah's speech is impeccable compared to Barry the Magnificent...

[P-Marlowe]

From an MSNBC Website two years ago:

Rowena, VA

I call on Senator McCain and Gov. Palin to immediately and personally refudiate and appologize to Senator Obama for all they has said over the past week or so that has cause most of America to agree with John Lewis.  The supporters at McCain/Palin's rally took me back to those days in the 60's as they was shouting "terrorist", "kill him".  I watched that rally just shaking my head, looking at the anger and disposition of his supporters thinking "OMG" (oh my God) why doesn't Gov. Palin stop this but she just laughed and aggitated it further.  Senator Obama can respond to this news release as he desires but Mr. John Lewis was correct in his observations.

#34 - Sat Oct 11, 2008 7:26 PM EDT