The Power of Media - "covfefe"
One particular event this week helped to clearly illustrate the powerful driving force of media and social media. Donald Trump, during a late-night inspiration, decided he was going to comment via Twitter on recent frustrations. Unfortunately, his post left quite a bit up to the imagination...
What immediately followed was a flurry of activity that began with confusion and concern, quickly moving onto humour and ridicule. Check out the highlights posted on The Guardian: "What is covfefe? The tweet by Donald Trump that baffled the internet." (The Guardian Online, May 31 2017).
The New York Times article, "What's a 'Covfefe'? Trump Tweet Unites a Bewildered Nation" also explored the immediate confusion with a humourous twist - that which confuses the heck out of a nation, also unites them.
CNN, in their article entitled "'Covfefe' tells you all you need to know about Donald Trump," interviewed people to see what they thought of the pronunciation and meaning, but also highlighted frustrating trends surrounding Trump's social media habits, reminding readers that there will likely be "more 'covfefes.' Maybe many more."
What became even more concerning was that by the end of the day, "covfefe" was being discussed in academia; even linguists were getting in on the debate over punctuation, the uncertainty of an "-fefe" suffix in the English language, and alluding to other coiners of new words, such as Shakespeare. Now, having likely started as a typo, "covfefe" is in the running to become an actual word. Part of our lexicon. Legitimized. See "Yes, covfefe is a word now. That's the Trump effect." (The Guardian Online, May 31 2017).
Scared? Me too. Although, I do admire the wit in many of the responses.
The New York Times article, "What's a 'Covfefe'? Trump Tweet Unites a Bewildered Nation" also explored the immediate confusion with a humourous twist - that which confuses the heck out of a nation, also unites them.
CNN, in their article entitled "'Covfefe' tells you all you need to know about Donald Trump," interviewed people to see what they thought of the pronunciation and meaning, but also highlighted frustrating trends surrounding Trump's social media habits, reminding readers that there will likely be "more 'covfefes.' Maybe many more."
What became even more concerning was that by the end of the day, "covfefe" was being discussed in academia; even linguists were getting in on the debate over punctuation, the uncertainty of an "-fefe" suffix in the English language, and alluding to other coiners of new words, such as Shakespeare. Now, having likely started as a typo, "covfefe" is in the running to become an actual word. Part of our lexicon. Legitimized. See "Yes, covfefe is a word now. That's the Trump effect." (The Guardian Online, May 31 2017).
Scared? Me too. Although, I do admire the wit in many of the responses.
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| Maybelline Parody |
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| Toronto Star Cartoon |
Even so, there are many questions that can be asked stemming from this, such as :
- How reliable is language if it is so rapidly changing and evolving?
- To what extent do media and social media influence the rate at which personal and shared knowledge changes?
- How far can it be argued that social media has shaped changes in language?
- Can carelessness in language use be considered irresponsible due to the impact it can have on communication?
- Can a made-up word be considered language if it is essentially meaningless and purposeless?
- To what extent do we have an obligation to regulate or censor the creation of new language in a world where trends are instantaneous?
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