Back in the Day
Back in the day, no one ever said, "Back in the day…" It was "In the good old days…" or something like that. It’s a new expression, just like "shellacked." Last month, it was a phrase used only by shellackers like myself, but ever since the elections, it’s been on the lips and fingertips of a vast ocean of media pundits. So, back in the day, who was the guy who coined the current iteration? Was it the President himself? I suppose it’s easy enough to figure out on Google. But back in the day before the web, there was this guy in my high school who always took credit for inventing the latest HS tagline. Did we have geeks back then? I don't remember, but that’s got to be the ultimate nerd thing, to claim invention of a new word or phrase.
So these guys who come up with all these new languages? Go figure. That's like asking for trouble. Who needs more languages? You do, right? You and James Cameron and all your big ego pals all need their own special language. OK. Got to admit, I'm a secret admirer of invented languages. I mean, that's basically how my Japanese sounds today.
Caleb Cox at the Register wrote on this world of made-up languages in his review of The Land of Invented Languages by Akira Okrent. He claims that "society tends to regard people who learn these languages as uber geeky and socially inept, but we often overlook the reasons why they’re so obsessed with the fantasies they love." I think this is just a spillover of the whole multilingual effect on personality. I mean, think of all the odd translators you know. Hey, I'm just saying… Take a look in the mirror, word nerd. You have nothing to lose but your acne.
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