Roots
Ring in the new
Deepti

IN preparation for the New Year and its fresh neologisms, here are some coinages that echo earlier trends. An ‘abortuary’ is a clinic where abortions are carried out. The word originated in the US as an expression of the anger of the anti-abortionist lobby. A portmanteau word that is made up of abort and mortuary, ‘abortuary’ could be the signal for the anger in India against female foeticide.

Fiction that concerns the domestic and emotional life of middle-class characters became very popular in the 1980s and came to be known as the ‘aga saga’. Set in a semi-rural location, it deals with the painful problems of modern life. Joanna Trollope is known for the aga saga. The term comes from the ‘Aga stove’ that has always been the emblem of the middle class kitchen of the West and, a ‘saga’ is a story. By and by, the aga saga has come to be identified with a picture of rural life. In the context of ‘soaps’ on television in India, the aga saga sounds quite familiar to the ear.

While medicos are still grappling with the ‘couch potato’ and related syndromes, along comes the ‘mouse potato’ to challenge their expertise. ‘Mouse potato’ is a slang for a person who spends an excessive amount of time on the computer.

Placement as a worry is no longer in vogue. The flavour of the year is now ‘outplacement’. The placement continues in the earlier context of ‘being placed’ but the ‘out’ is added on for the notion of finding a placement for someone ‘outside’ the present place of work. ‘Dehiring’, another such construct, was the inspiration for the coining of ‘outplacement’ in the 1980s. ‘Outplacement’ is slowly creating a paradigm of its own by coining words like ‘outplacement counselling’ and ‘outplacement executives’. The ‘outplacement industry’ indicates a consciously professional approach to the process of dismissal and redundancy along with active assistance in seeking a new position.