On Verbification
Lately, I spent some time reading articles on software globalization processes and best practices. One of the recurring themes is verbification and that it should be avoided when creating English software applications that are to be used by an international customer base.
Verbification (from Latin “verb” + “ficare”, “to make into a verb”) denotes the act of converting a noun (or adjective) into a verb. Examples of verbification include many verbs, more obvious ones are “email”, “proselytize”, and “verbify”.
Most authors argue that verbification hinders customers who speak English as a second language in fully understanding the meaning of the verbified words: Words that are not included in standard dictionaries are hard to verify – better use commonly used words.
To some extend, this makes sense to me. However, as a non-native speaker of English, I feel slightly miffed if writers assume that I should not be able to deduct the meaning of “verbify” by drawing parallels to other verbs that end in “-ify” or “fy” such as “vilify” (to make someone a villain) or solidify (to make something solid). Verbify – to make something a verb – bingo! Superb deduction.
In his article “The Way we Live Now”, William Safire argues that new words based on derivations are “a sign that the word fills a linguistic need”. It would be interesting to collect data on trends in word formation. If it is true that the (U.S.) English language currently experiences a renaissance of verbification, then what does this signify about society? It is likely that this reflects a shift in societal values or states. A sudden emergence of verbified words could point to a shift in society, a society where individuals are expected to keep busy all the time, not only at work, but also in their leisure time.
