Whether It Matters or Not

Thousands of new words are invented each year. Most of these come from science. When scientists discover something new, if they do not have a word for their discovery¹, they make one up. Young people too often make up new meanings for old words. One good example is the word "bad". When young Americans use this word, it often means² "good".

Words are often made up by big companies for their new products. If a product becomes popular, then everyone will know both the product and the new word. Other companies quickly make similar products, but they can not use similar words. It is against the law to copy other people's ideas or inventions.

Sometimes a product becomes so popular that it becomes a general word in the language. Whether the first company likes it or not, many customers may use the new word generally³. They may use it for both the original⁴ product and the copies of it.

Other companies, however, still cannot print the new word on their products. For example, We have all listened to a Walkman, haven't we? Maybe not! The company which developed this product, Sony, owns the word "Walkman." And no other company can print it on the tape machines.

The word "Coke" is also owned by a company. It is the name of a soft drink made by the Coca Cola company. But most people use the word generally for any soft drink. If you order a Coke at a fast-food restaurant but get a Pepsi, would it matter? Whether it matters or not, you should be satisfied⁵ with what you get.

The word "Frisbee⁶" is owned by a company, too. However, it has become a general word for all similar products. There are "Frisbees" and there are Frisbees, but only one company makes Frisbees. It may be hard for a new word to become popular, but it is easy to make one up. You can try yourself!