New Words

Linguistic Landscapes Language in Culture and Community Spoken language has consistently proven a difficult entity to research because it——like a cultural value——is highly untangible. This intangible component of society is referred to as a ‘mentifact.’ Mentifact (noun): the intangible, ideological components of a culture such as its shared ideas, values, beliefs, attitudes, preferences, and knowledge. A mentifact is one of three subcategories that can be combined to sum up the traits of a culture (Three Components of Culutre). These three components of culture include mentifacts, sociofacts, and artifacts. ...

Singaid (idiom, idiomatic expression) Pronunciation /siŋ-eɪd/ or /sɪŋ-eɪd/ sing as in “sing” or “sin” with a g (depending on dialect) aid as in “aid”—offering help. Defintion Said to someone who has just hiccuped, as a polite remark; a remark offering good wishes of hiccups passing. Like the English expression bless you, which is often used when someone is sneezing, singaid is a polite expression towards someone with the hiccups. Use of the word singaid person one: *has the hiccups* ...