With all that has, and is, occurring, we need something to celebrate. For me, this seems like a most excellent choice.🤓🤓🤓
NATIONAL WORD NERD DAY –
January 9, 2021
We celebrate National Word Nerd Day on January 9 by enthusing about our favorite words and the importance of language in our culture. Whether you always know what to say, or you often end up with your foot in your mouth, words are essential to our success and progress. National Word Nerd Day gives us the chance to learn some new words, use some old ones, and maybe even borrow them from someone else! We’ve got some wordy ways to spend your day and verbose views on how to celebrate this National Word Nerd Day!
History of National Word Nerd Day
Humans have communicated since we first walked on Earth, though our early language was nowhere near as complex as the systems of words we use today. Once, our basic vocabulary range was no different from that of great apes, but as we advanced, so did our language.
With developments in our lifestyle, we needed to be able to name things, communicate ideas, and express ourselves to aid our advancement. Words and language became increasingly important, yet it took many centuries until they were considered important enough to document.
During the medieval period, the written word was considered a luxury, with only the rich or the anointed able to read and write in a sophisticated way. As such, the majority was only able to enjoy words through oral storytelling. Shakespeare and other great wordsmiths used their love of words to delight audiences in the theatres, even inventing words for use in their work.
But by the mid-18th century, reading and writing were more widely taught and accessible to a greater range of people. As a result, it became necessary to produce a comprehensive list of words and their meanings in the English language, a task embarked upon by Dr. Samuel Johnson, who was paid the sum of 1,500 guineas (approximately $325,000 in today’s money) for its completion. After seven years of toil, his dictionary was published in 1755 and is still widely regarded as one of the most influential texts of the English language.
Today, we celebrate National Word Nerd Day to mark the importance of words in our history and civilization, giving us an excuse to geek out on our favorites!
National Word Nerd Day timeline
50,000 BC
The Origins of Language
Humans develop a more complex system of communication, using a primitive form of the language we use today.
1616
The Bard is Buried
Having invented and introduced over 1,700 words into the English language, William Shakespeare dies.
1755
A Superior Dictionary.
Samuel Johnson’s dictionary is published, after single-handedly working on it for seven years.
1857
The First Oxford English Dictionary
Dissatisfied with the existing English dictionaries, a group of word nerds gets together to produce the first OED.