Solecism: “You could look it up!”
Today’s Word of the Day is inspired by my daughter Ariel, who makes her living as a copy editor (She’s very good). It’s probably an occupational hazard, but I think she loses her mind just a little bit with every solecism she encounters.
The Word of the Day is “solecism.”
There are certain words that, no matter how many times I hear them or see them in print, I have to consult a dictionary to be sure of the meaning.
For example, whenever I see the words “solecism” or “solipsism” I have to run to the dictionary, because I can’t keep them straight. (Okay, the *other* Word of the Day is “solipsism.” You get a two-fer today. Lucky you.)
“Solipsism” – from the Latin “solus” (alone) and “ipse” (self) – is a term from philosophy, which may explain why I always have to look it up. Philosophy makes my eyes glaze over and my brain stop working. Anyway, “solipsism” is the philosophical theory that only the self exists, or can be proven to exist. In other words, the only thing I can be absolutely sure of is that I am the only reality; I alone am the only thing that exists, and everything else in the world – even things I can see, hear, smell, touch and taste - only exist in my mind. You and your mind? Sorry, can’t prove they exist. (“I think, therefore I am. But you? Not so much.”)
See why philosophy makes my brain hurt?
Whenever I see the word “solipsism,” I confuse it with “solecism,” the concept which makes my proofreading, copy-editing daughter lose just a tiny bit of her mind.
“Solecism” refers to an ungrammatical combining of words in a sentence, or a minor grammatical blunder in speech or writing, or even a breach of etiquette. “There ain’t no cows around here nowhere” and “Me and him went to the movies” are examples of solecisms. So are some usages that are not wrong at all, just widely frowned upon, like splitting infinitives or ending a sentence with a preposition.
“Solecism” has a pretty cool back-story. It goes like this:
Once upon a time, a long time ago (like, the 8th century B.C.), there was a Greek colony in a Mediterranean coastal town called Soloi in what is now Turkey. Since the Jersey shore and Martha’s Vineyard hadn’t become popular vacation spots yet, the ancient Athenians would go hang out in Soloi. The Athenians thought the colonists at Soloi were a bunch of rubes who mangled the beautiful Greek language. In fact, the Athenians came up with a derogatory term for people who spoke incorrectly. They called them “soloikos” (people from Soloi). And from there, they coined the word “soloikismos,” meaning “an ungrammatical combination of words” or “to speak incorrectly like the people of Soloi.” Down through the centuries, “soloikismos” became the modern “solecism.” It still means “an ungrammatical combination of words,” even though it no longer specifically refers to a bunch of Greek freaks from Soloi.
And, for the record, I had to look it up. Again.
