Because he invented a word.
Sort of. It's been used before, clearly, so maybe he just brought it back.
Either way, its use seemed to launch a fair amount of debate. Is it a word? Is it not a word?
Well, I ask you this, what makes something a word?
I was talking to NowEverybody about this and he is very much a fan of language being fluid. Always developing.
In Mr. Clemens case, what should he have said? That someone didn't remember? That doesn't quite sum up the sentiment. Or that he remembered incorrectly? Well, that's longer. And "misremember" gets his exact point across in a shorted amount of time.
So I say cheers to inventing words, as long as they serve a purpose.
I was talking with another friend the other day (I have two!) and they were telling me about asking a friend from Southern California how they express something that is extreme without saying "hella". Some Northern Califorians are prone to doing this and are mocked for it. Well the representative from SoCal didn't really have an answer. They just don't do that.
Apparently we feel things more deeply here and need to express that. Hence the need for hella*.
So the idea is to realize that language is not static. It's dynamic and always evolving.
So next time you think someones recalling an event incorrectly, drop a "you hella misremember" on them. And think of Roger Clemens.
*I hate this word but recognize and respect its significance. However, you won't catch me saying it.
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2 comments:
before coming to Berkeley and discovering "hella", my friends and i just said "so fucking." as in, "Jack in the Box sounds so fucking good right now."
but what about when you want to say, "Dang, I have hell of emails in my inbox today," in a happy way, without necessarily being crude about it?
i have also had this conversation with my teenage siblings, but apparently kids in los angeles don't feel very strongly about anything.
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