Language is fun

I had to take a linguistics class for my degree. Never having really delved into that side of language, I didn't know what to expect; I'd been immersed in Grammarville for so long. One of the first things I learned in this class, interestingly enough, was that if a point is successfully communicated, however gramatically incorrect it may be, the the purpose of language is pretty much served. And yet, I cannot read ANYTHING without at least a mental red pen going over every tense choice, each punctuation mark. I do not claim my writing is perfect...but I hope I at least sound somewhat coherent. Unless it's happy hour.

Another fascinating language phenomenon is the formation of new words. I guess it stands to reason that as the world evolves, so should the words we need to describe it. But some of these new formations just make me laugh.

Like 'emoticon'.

It certainly says exactly what it is, right up front. Emote + icon. Can't get much more clear than that.

But...if you add a number to it, doesn't it totally sound like a Star Trek planet? Can't you hear Picard ordering someone to beam down to Emoticon 5?

Maybe it's just me.