Name: Go ahead, make up new words!
Uploaded: 2014-12-22T17:47:13Z
Duration: 6 min 42 s
Description: In this fun, short talk from TEDYouth, lexicographer Erin McKean encourages — nay, cheerleads — her audience to create new words when the existing ones won’t quite do. She lists out 6 ways to make new words in English, from compounding to “verbing,” in order to make language better at expressing what we mean, and to create more ways for us to understand one another.

Erin McKean: Go ahead, make up new words!

Go ahead, make up new words!

In this fun, short talk from TEDYouth, lexicographer Erin McKean encourages — nay, cheerleads — her audience to create new words when the existing ones won’t quite do. She lists out 6 ways to make new words in English, from compounding to “verbing,” in order to make language better at expressing what we mean, and to create more ways for us to understand one another.

Language is a living collaboration shaped by everyone who speaks it, not just by dictionary editors. English grows stronger and more expressive when people invent new words, whether by borrowing from other languages or blending existing terms. Even playful creations like 'brunch' and 'motel' have become essential. Encouraging word-making fosters creativity and helps ideas connect more powerfully.