Pain in the English
Pain in the English

Unpacking English, Bit by Bit

A community for questioning, nitpicking, and debating the quirks and rules of the English language.

Pain in the English
Pain in the English

Unpacking English, Bit by Bit

A community for questioning, nitpicking, and debating the quirks and rules of the English language.

Username

vattafairefoote

Member Since

February 2, 2010

Total number of comments

1

Total number of votes received

11

Bio

Latest Comments

Word in question: Conversate

  • February 2, 2010, 11:41am

I agree with Adrian. I see nothing wrong with letting "conversate" become a word, whether language purists accept it or not. It may very well die out in 20 years, or it could become standard.

I mean, there are plenty of back-formations in standard English nowadays. In America, for example, people tend to use "orient" for the verbal counterpart of "orientation." Yet, in Britain and the Commonwealths, people often use the back-formation "orientate." There's no reason for them to do this, since "orient" already existed to begin with, but "orientate" exists nonetheless. And it's now so common, it's unremarkable.

I hope this helps.