Fun word competitions
In my previous post, I shared some activities for fun shared and creative activities.
Today, I came across a fun competition launched by the New York Times.
The idea is that students invent a new word and send it in, along with a definition, an example sentence containing it, and an explanation as to why it should be added to the English language.
You have to be aged between 11 and 18, so I’m just over the age limit myself!
;)))
I guess it could be a word built from another word. I’ve been reading a lot about adaptability recently, which does have a lot of words connected to it, like adapt, adaptable, adapted, adaptive, adaptation, adapter.
A related word – versatility, on the other hand, is limited to the adjective versatile. So perhaps we could create a verb – to versatilise perhaps (with the alternative spelling, versatilize?) Or perhaps make it shorter and reduce it to to versat?
The definition could be 1 To be capable of acting or behaving in various, appropriate ways. 2. To develop a wide range of different skills and abilities. Then, example sentences could be: We need to versatilise our students. Versitalizing the students in our class should be a top priority.
The words on the image above look both scary (imagine having a permacold!) and either fun or suspicous like yassify. Does yassify mean never saying ‘no’ or to refer to creating something that is so wonderful that you can’t resist? I just searched for cryptoadventure and it looks like it is a company name, but not a word in its own right yet.
If you are reading this post after February 28th 2022, and have missed the deadline, you could always have your own competition and award your own prize.
And as well as this word creation competition, the New York Times has other monthly challenges, like Creating a Vocabulary Video or Writing a story with using words of the day.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your colleagues – and don’t forget to look back at my previous, related posts.
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