Unless someone has already done so, I'd like to claim the term "superlification" as a process, specifically the superlification of language.
We used to say "right" or "good" or "thanks". We graduated to "great" and "brilliant", and now it's "awesome!" or "perfect!" (seemingly interchangeable terms despite having wholly different meanings).
There's more, of course. "Epic" still seems popular among my teenage relatives and half decent albums by average bands are routinely (and rather desperately) described as "iconic".
A hotel receptionist recently called my completed registration form (or perhaps the competence with which I completed the registration form) "perfect". I thought I could have done better.
Likewise I am always delighted when someone thinks my agreement with or willingness to do something is "awesome", but it's not really, is it? It's usually the minimum expectation given the circumstances.
"Awesome" tends to exist more in speech. "Perfect" seems to be proliferating wildly in both emails and speech.
I have no real problem with any of this, language and meaning always changing etc, but I do wonder now we've hit "perfect" where the superlification of language can go next. Will it create a problem that superlification cannot overcome, so we leave that element of our exchanges behind? Maybe emojis and gifs in emails are already doing that.
Anyway. Whatever.
Have an amazing day.
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I've just remembered I have form on this. Here's something from 2010 called Have a Lovely Day.
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I've just remembered I have form on this. Here's something from 2010 called Have a Lovely Day.
