Vocab What?

Vocab Journalism is a new form of writing that starts with the premise that a writer doesn’t have to be a prisoner of the words that already exist in a language. Just as each word was itself born at a particular moment in the history of time by the person who first uttered or wrote it, a word can be created by anyone at wish, will or whim, or at wishwillwhimwishwillwhim

Definition: Something occurring not only at someone’s wish, or at their will or on a whim, but with the freedom, desire and spontaneity that comes from all three rolled into one.

Example: “With her husband standing at her side, she took the stranger in her arms and planted a kiss on his lips in a split second of wishwillwhim.".

Let’s call such a new word, a nordnord

Definition: A word that didn’t exist before it was created by a Vocab Journalist.

Example: “If Vocab Journalism takes off, there’ll be more nords than words.” – as in "new word" – and pronounce it like word or nerd, but with no such connotation. I’m not pretending that nord is my best nord, but it illustrates the point.

The only limit to this freedom of creation is that a nord should communicate what the writer wants to say. In other words – or in other nords – the poor little nord needs to be understood. Otherwise it is indeed in danger of being more nerdish than nordishnordish

Definition: Something with a deliciously inventive quality.

Example: “The less time he spends at work the more nordish he gets." – both of course pronounced exactly the same, but with almost exactly opposite meanings.

So until one of these naughty little nords enters the language proper – if there is such a thing as a language more proper than the little languages we create – it’s usually necessary first to build one of our glossaries or mini-dictionaries. Then, with some ground under its feet, the nord is free to jump around with joy and do whatever it wishes.

And once the nord is born, a whole family of other nords begins to grow, almost of its own accord - or at its own wishwillwhim. Yes, the story cries out for the vocab, it inspires the vocab, it needs the vocab to be complete, but soon the vocab takes over and becomes the tail that wags the dog. The vocab grows and the writer forgets for a moment even the storyline. Nords start to flow and multiply. They spawn other nords through grammar – verbs appear, adjectives, synonyms, antonyms – and they multiply also as new concepts are sparked in the process each of which needs a new name. They reproduce, conjugate and contradict. And soon there’s a little language ready and waiting, so the writer can go back to the story, pen in one hand and a toolbox full of nords in the other.

Vocab Journalism theoretically includes the creation of words to describe even a technical or serious issue, just as lawyers create definitions in a contract to avoid the lengthy repetition of the full meanings behind them.

But I invented Vocab Journalism as a writing device to make satire more satirical, to delve into an issue more devilishly, to boldly go where there is no bold font, and generally to have a lot of fun at the expense of the target of my story. Vocab Journalism is not just a tool to convey concepts but is a tool to tease as well. A nord has arms and legs that tease and tickle the subject.

I hope you will enjoy some tickling.

Mark Dixon
AKA Mr. Twist