I use 'marvellous'. But then my idiolect is full of anachronisms (it's great to be able to use words that I know you can just look up quickly if you haven't yet added them to your vocabulary - I love the internet!). Do you use 'marvellous'? Or 'awesome'? This article is very relevant for Language Change - it is worth noting the name of the project and how they are going about it and then finding out more.
http://www.theguardian.com/science/shortcuts/2014/aug/26/british-english-words-endangered-awesome-marvellous
I don't think that "Marvellous" is American dialect and is used throughout the English. I have not seen the increased frequency of Marvellous being used and the lower frequency of Awesome. I still use awesome
ReplyDeleteI meant the other way round:(
DeleteI agree with how the article says that the word "marvellous" was used more frequently 20+ years ago. I think the word is still used by older people like parents and grandparents who would have heard this word being used quite often in everyday conversations, but as a result of not hearing it me and people around my age don't tend to use it. Sometimes I use the word awesome, but not often.
ReplyDelete'Marvellous' was definitely a term which was used amongst the older generations, so in that aspect, I agree with the article. However, I think that as years have passed, society revolves a lot more around the media and social networking sites. So, as a result of this, because of the stronger connection with American TV nowadays and social networking sites such as Facebook, people our age are more likely to catch on to the term 'awesome' because they are exposed to it as opposed to the older generation. So because of the way society is now, children grow up watching channels such as 'Disney Channel' which again is mainly American TV shows therefore they are likely to grow up using the words heard through the media nowadays.
ReplyDeleteI agree with lauren that TV and social media have had a major influence on people in our generation. As for marvellous I certainly do not say it. Generations are so different these days, so where my grandad would say marvellous, id tone it down and say "That's really good". generations are constantly changing. I do agree with the article in the sense that people do use the word awesome, but i think that is a very american saying...? Do I use the word awesome? No, but my younger brother does. Weird hey?
ReplyDeleteThe word 'Marvelous' is used much less in this current day and age. Personally I would think my Grandparents are perhaps more likely to use it but I do not ever really hear them say it. The only time the word is ever really used in my house is when my Mother uses it sarcastically when something goes wrong. For example "well that's just bloody marvelous". In conclusion I think the word 'Marvelous' is predominantly low frequency. The word 'Awesome' is used much more frequently in our generation. This is because we are much more susceptible to American terminology such as 'Awesome'. We find ourselves hearing this word more due to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter which are both based in America and American television as it is so much easier to access now. Generally I think that the younger generation use these sorts of words more frequently as they are so exposed to American TV shows on kids channels such as Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and The Disney Channel.
ReplyDeleteI think that 'awesome' fits in a lot better than 'marvellous' with the English language with the way that it has evolved over the years as it has become more lazy and informal, I also dislike the way they insulted young people by implying that they wouldn't know what 'cheerio' meant other than the cereal, it makes them sound slightly dumb and ignorant..
ReplyDeleteTo me marvellous is something I would expect my grandma to say or a word to describe the new Cadburys bar. (Marvellous creations). However awesome is used a lot more frequently and seems to fit in better with the English language but perhaps that's because its used so frequently I have just got used to hearing it whereas marvellous is not something I hear everyday.
ReplyDeleteMarvellous definitely isn't a word that I would use, and I don't think many other people my age would use it either, unless it was perhaps used in a sarcastic manner. So in that case, I would agree with this agree,. However, I wouldn't say that I say the word awesome in everyday conversation either. I think that younger children may say awesome more as children programmes are mainly American. As a result, children are more likely to hear awesome in conversations on the TV, therefore, using it more frequently than someone more my age.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I have ever used the word 'Marvellous', to me it sounds like something a creepy old man would say if he was plotting an evil plan... I don't use 'Awesome' nowadays but I did when I was about 14. I also agree with Callum as my younger sisters use it too (they are 11 and 13).
ReplyDeletehttp://lousa2englishlangblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/september-2nd-2014-assignment-read.html
ReplyDeleteDo you think 'marvellous' is regaining some of its strength? Like 'awesome', it has undergone a linguistic process called 'weakening' (learn that term) whereby it does not have as intense meaning as it used to - awesome = something causing awe -> something very good; marvellous = a marvel/something to gape at or admire -> something very good or, ironically/sarcastically the opposite as James mentioned. But if it is used less frequently, perhaps it will regain some impact when used, e.g. as in 'a marvellous performance as King Lear' meaning not just very good but astonishingly good?
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