In this presentation I examine the background, usage, popularity and possible disuse of Pop-culture related buzzwords and other related linguistic ephemera. With the increasing competition between online dictionaries, and in the name of having larger and more up-to-date reference works as a possible selling point for their products, it is becoming increasingly common that lexicographers are less restrictive in what they include as legitimate English words in the latest editions of their dictionaries. This talk looks at selected words/phrases in recent decades (primarily from TV, film, music lyrics and the internet) and examines the trends and patterns as regards their introduction and codification in well-known reference works such as usage guides and dictionaries. Special emphasis will be placed on investigating any differences between the ways in which new lexical items are treated in online works as opposed to print media.
About the presenterJoe Trotta
Joe Trotta is a linguist and an expatriate American who lives and works in Gothenburg, Sweden. Since 2002, he has been an Associate Professor in English Linguistics at the University of Gothenburg. From 1998-2002, he was a Senior Lecturer at Halmstad University College. In addition, from 2003 to 2005, Joe was a visiting scholar at the CUNY graduate center in New York City.
The focus of Trotta’s research on grammar/syntax has been ‘descriptive-oriented theory’, i.e. an approach which incorporates generative, functional and cognitive insights along with corpus research into a theory-neutral, descriptive framework.
Aside from grammar, Joe is a scholar with many interests and eclectic tastes, which include, among other things, semantics, sociolinguistics, urban dialectology, semiotics, computer-mediated communication, and, of course, Popular Culture. Most of Joe’s most recent publications deal with issues of identity and linguistic representation in different Popular Culture channels such as TV dialogs, music lyrics, ads, social media, etc.