Children of the Bard beware! Do whatever you want but never "refudiate!" Those of you who get the thrill of the situation are sure to understand what on earth I am talking about, and those who don’t, I suggest they head on to the Breaking News section and illuminate their minds. The talk of the town is "refudiate," and in case you wonder who had the guts to use this word, close your eyes and think for a second. Yes, you are absolutely correct!! Sarah Palin. Who else can it be? It is strange how she wakes up from her hibernating phase once or twice every three months or so to create a complete balatron of herself! Last time she was on, she was seen palm reading. And this time she broke all her previous records with her crazy attempt to polish our vocab and gift us with this new God-knows-what-it-means word -- refudiate! Even Microsoft Word wouldn’t take it; it beats me how she could type the word without being automatically corrected.
Her abaxial attempt has been linked with malapropism, but “Lead theway and we'll precede” is certainly not the case with Mrs. Palin as she insisted the word is correct. In her Twitter post she actively defended her solecism. The English language is malleable, but does that mean that words like "refudiate, which is very close to two actually present words refute and repudiate, could be allowed to exist? Palin used the word not once, but twice. Once she asked Michelle Obama to "refudiate" the claim that the 'Tea Party Movement' is racist, the second time in a Twitter post asking us to "refudiate" the proposed mosque near Ground Zero. I would certainly "refudiate" provided she clarified what she meant by "refudiating."
When Palin first used the word on July 14th on the Fox News Show, people thought she had gotten mixed up in the heat of the moment and ended up coining the word. What stress! How difficult the life of an ex-governor must be that she is set to revolt not only against the world but also the lingo the world solemnly uses. Neologism? Yes, yes, that is good for the growth of a language, but neologism to this extent? Come on! The Bard would have flown away to heaven if he heard this.
Mrs. Palin has impressed us all right with her fulgent logodaedaly, now it's time for her to acknowledge the fact that the word is erroneous. Sometime one has to acknowledge her mistakes, you know, that is what makes one a good human being. We can repudiate our peccadilloes, but killing a language is something we never appreciate. So, Mrs. Palin, if you are listening, please use the free online dictionaries and save the world.
- CNN i-Report: http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-474012
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