Language used to evolve slowly back when we were far-flung. Wide-spread
human contact was made through one civilization taking over another. That’s
drastically different, today. New words can take over the planet literally
in minutes. While that speed is incredible, it’s even more so when you stop
and think about the fact that new words and analogies are little shift our
points of view— gay vs same-sex, criminals vs justice-involved, murder vs
honor-killing. While new words flow like rapids, filling new spaces or
displacing old ideas, and as English becomes a global platform— our human
experience is shaped and reshaped within even within our own lifetime.
 Anne Curzan studies the history of English, the evolution of slang and
it’s migration over time. She’s the author of several books on language
including her latest, “Fixing English: Prescriptivism and Language History”
as well as co-hosting “That’s What They Say” on Michigan’s NPR.