Language Change
Shawntell M. Warr
English 380
August 5, 2013
Dr. Jean LeGrand

Language Change
Over years cultures evolve. One aspect of a culture is how people communicate. Language is a part of how people communicate and words change over time. Language provides another means for people express themselves. The words used people and so are their meanings. As children, people learn to talk and which words to use to get their ideas across. As they mature they learn more complex ways of expressing thought. As language changes over time people have to adapt. Words not only change locally, but also learned some words take on an international meaning. Many words’ meanings has spread internationally and become a part of another culture’s language. As time progresses the meaning of certain words changes. Today the word “dude” is slang for a male. In the 1800s “dude” “referred to a dandy-ish sort of doofus” (Peters, 2010). It mocked a man for the way he dressed or spoke. The term began as a way to make fun of a person, but later took a different form in the west. It referred to “a non-westerner or city dweller who tours of stays in the west of the United States” (Peters, 2010). . In the 20th century, “dude” took on another meaning. The African American community turned the word into slang. It meant cool, or simply “the boys” or “fellas.” As the sixties approached the term became associated with a cool person and embraced by surfers. Many people can see “dude” gained momentum in movies such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Fast Times at Ridgemeont High, Wayne’s World, or Clerks. In some of these movies the word “dude” even took on an exclamatory position. The word “cool” has changed tremendously over time and taken on several parts of speech. The word can be a verb, noun, or adjective. The most common meaning of the word, to lose heat, derived in the 14th century. In 1728 “cool” referred to “large sums of money” (“Cool”, 2001-2013) to give an idea of the amount. Later in1825 it meant “calmly audacious” (“Cool”, 2001-2013). The definition most people are familiar with originated in 1933. “Cool” meaning fashionable or to maintain oneself. Both words “cool” and “dude” are examples of how the meaning of everyday words in the English language has changed over centuries. It shows how culture and social changes affect the meanings of words. According to the Oxford Dictionary “Humvee” is native to North America and refers to a “four-wheel-drive all-terrain military vehicle” and it is also the common slang term for hummer. The word “Humvee” originated in 1991 during the Persian Gulf War. It began as a military vehicle, but is available for civilians to buys as personal automobiles. To other parts of the world it symbolizes the idea of “Humvee” more than have a meaning of the world. It represents military invasion. Americans see “Humvee” as luxury SUV’s. Another word that has differs internationally is “glitch.” A glitch is a “defect or malfunction in a machine or plan”. (“Glitch”, 2013.) The originated in Yiddish and is also known in German in the sixties. In both cases it meant “slippery area” or “to slip, slide” respectively. The two meaning are completely different from what Americans refer to a glitch as.

References
Cool. (2001-2013). In Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved from http://etymonline.com/?term=cool.
Glitch. (2013). In Dictionary.com. Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/glitch
Peters, M. (2010). The History of "Dude”. Retrieved from http://www.good.is/posts/the-history- of-the-dude