So Microsoft has a new search engine. They call it "Bing".
Please, engage with me in this thought experiment.
What if it's a huge hit. What if people start using it as a generic term. In these, Google's glory days, people say, "I googled myself". What if they start saying "I binged myself'"?
That doesn't sound right, though. You don't say "I singed a song" or "I bringed my hat". So it doesn't sound natural to say "I binged myself."
Let's break this down based on analogy:
sing ---> sang
bing ---> bang
This is getting sticky: "I bang myself". Of course, with a name like "Microsoft" they are used to double entendre, but this still doesn't sound quite right.
fling ---> flung
bing ---> bung
"I bung myself". This sounds so morose, like you're putting yourself down.
bring ---> brought
bing ---> bought
That would be confusing, but fun. "I bought myself" would mean you did a search on yourself. Paradoxical and wonderful self-reference, if you ask me. I think we have a winner!
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nah. "I pinged him yesterday" is perfectly meaningful. I think it will be binged. Assuming this actually takes off.
ReplyDeleteAny precedent from Friends with Chandler Bing having done something with his last name used as a verb?
ReplyDeleteAll the more reason to hope it fails, eh! The world is confusing enough without it!
ReplyDeleteAh, in my family, we use "bing" as a synonym for passing gas.
ReplyDeleteApparently no one up in Redmond uses it in the same way.
I don't see why the existence of similar irregulars implies that a neologism should also be irregular.
ReplyDeleteIn linguistics in college, they told me that by convention, neologisms are never irregular.
Yes yes I argee that neologisms are never irregular hm hm
ReplyDelete"Binged" it will be. It could be pronounced with two syllables like "bing-ed". I doubt that will happen, though.
ReplyDeletesteal > stole
ReplyDeletebing > bong
drink > drunk
bing > bung
But sadly, ablaut is not terribly productive for the English verbs.
All we have are weak verbs, now.
bing is a gerund, not a verb.
ReplyDeletethe verb is "b"
so "i bed myself" is the proper conjugation
"I bung myself" means I bribe myself. If I get the cash, not so bad. If I pay, downright immoral. Might appeal to the bipolar in the upswing phase.
ReplyDeletebung is english slang for a bribe ... is this relevant?
ReplyDeleteMaybe "bough" (without ending "t"). I.e. "I bough myself." Or maybe "I beng myself."
ReplyDelete