Philip Cu Unjieng
HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRIPE-VINE
We take words for granted. We use them liberally, with supreme confidence that we’re using them correctly; but do we really know how they’ve come to exist? And do we even understand their true meaning or etymology? The inescapable fact is that quite often, we stumble across a new word, or an old word being utilized in a new, popular way; and in order to look like we’re abreast of today’s lingo, of its idiomatic use, or how it’s crept into the vernacular, we rely purely on context to give us a gleaning of how it’s used. And from there, it becomes part of our own range of regularly-used vocabulary. Raise your hands, you who think you’re guilty of that?
A couple of columns ago, I wrote about how COVID-19 has given birth to so many new words, or how words have been transformed and/or rehabilitated to become the ubiquitous buzzwords of today – from words like “pivot,” to initialisms such as PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) and PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction). In so far as initialisms are concerned, I’m distinguishing between an acronym such as *Scuba or Laser^ on one hand, and initialisms such as DOA or NBI on the other hand - in the case of initialisms, we say the letters out loud.
A recent sports headline was “Lionel Messi could be fined for failing to show for RT-PCR test” – and let’s be honest, how many of you read that, and immediately presumed the RT stood for Rapid Testing or Real Time? Either choice, and we’re wrong, as it stands for Reverse Transcription; which brings home the point of how easy it is to presume, to be logical, or rely on context – and end up wrong. To a degree it is about being lazy, or just wanting to get on reading, and then uttering these words as we know there’s a high percentage we’re using it properly. But it does go back to what I was saying about our taking words for granted.
The advent of the digital age is one sterling example of how the lexicon has evolved and we all played catch up, possibly without really knowing what the words we bandy about really mean. If I say SIM, GIF, meme, or SPAM; examples of what they are can immediately pop up in our minds – but do we know what those terms intrinsically stand for? SIM is Subscriber Identification Module, which would be close enough to what they actually are, so it won’t come as that much of a surprise. But be honest, how many of you out there know what GIF stands for? If you aren’t a nerd, would one know it’s Graphic Interchange Format?
Meme begs for deeper understanding. As originally coined by British biologist Richard Dawkins in 1976, it referred to an idea, behavior, or style that becomes a fad and spreads through the “imitation game” – the world of cultural transmission and memetics. In Internet usage, it became more specific, as something that goes viral through social media platforms, and is often humorous in nature. We all know SPAM as used in this digital age as junk e-mail, but do you know it‘s being the preferred term to describe online trash comes from the Monty Python “spam” skit? It’s geek love for this iconic comedy show that made this usage happen.
Speaking of Spam, while the people at Hormel like to keep it a mystery, some claim it’s an acronym of Shoulder of Pork And Ham; while after World War II, the British explained the food product as Special Processed American Meat. Staying in the kitchen, Canola Cooking oil doesn’t come from a non-existent Canola plant, but from Rapeseed in Canada – Canola is CANadian Oil, Low Acid.
Travel is something we’re all pining for, so here are two acronyms you may have not been aware of. One of our favorite stops in most major cities would be IKEA; and do you know it’s the first letters of the Founder’s name (Ingvar Kamprad) and of his hometown (Elmtaryd Aggunaryd). And for those who are nostalgic about Orlando & Disney World, did you ever wonder why it’s called the EPCOT theme park? It’s for Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow. If Disney means kids, how many parents realize that the Nerf of the blasters and toys they buy comes from Non-Expandable Recreational Foam. Guess I’m just a junkie for this kind of information, and I’m hoping you’re getting some fun out of this.
One final word as we get closer to 6 full months of Community Quarantine. I recently saw a feature about “Why we shouldn’t stop talking about COVID,” and was struck by how so many answers were about lessons learned, and new outlooks to Life. While those were all fine, it somehow seemed to treat the pandemic like it was in our rear-view mirror. While we all wish it would magically disappear, the most pressing reason why we shouldn’t stop talking about COVID is because it still surrounds us. Flattening the curve, can be equated to turning the tide of the war against the virus – but NOT that the war is over! And honestly, it would be so tragic to end up numbering among the COVID-related deaths recorded in September, and the months still to come.
*Scuba, as I mentioned then, comes from Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus.
^Laser, which is used everyday, is Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation – and “fess up, did you know that?