A-okay in space (and on The Traitors)

My moment of insight about embracing language change

Whenever I'm writing, editing, or proofreading, I add to my log of words or phrases I've needed to look up for spelling, hyphenation, accents, or when something needs fact-checking. I call it my 'look-up list'. Here’s a screenshot snippet showing some recent logs:

There's no good practical reason for keeping this list; it just feels like these ephemeral treasures of my daily work deserve a home: a high-rise apartment block in Google Sheets. Occasionally, it comes in handy when working with a repeat client, the same subject matter, or the same author, as the exact same queries can crop up more than once. But mostly, it is simply a database of my own curiosity. 

Even if the same questions do come up again, it's usually still better for me to check the online style guides, search engines, and AI afresh, as there’s always an underlying anxiety that the answer could have changed.

And language, of course, does change. This feels especially true currently (or, more likely, I'm just noticing it more) when it seems that as long as a word is used with conviction, you can make it mean whatever you mean it to mean. I see this all the time on programmes like Love Island, First Dates, The Apprentice, and now The Traitors (my unashamed go-to shows when I'm working on intense projects and need a complete switch off via unreality reality). They seem filled with instances of younger (than me) cast members using 'incorrect' words midsentence that sound kind of like the 'right' word.

This 'misuse' of language and introduction of new terms angers some viewers intensely, and as someone who believes that words matter, I was in this group too. But why? It's easy to catch the meaning of what's being said. So what's the problem? The best I could come up with was: 'It's annoying'.

Then last week, when I was writing my first Substack post, about memories of summer days in the States, I added a new term to my look-up list that brought about a change of heart. The term was 'A-OK', and I was checking whether I should use 'OK' or 'Okay' (apparently either way is A-okay). I ended up reading the A-OK or A-okay Wikipedia entry, which says the expression was first introduced in the fifties by NASA engineers who used it during radio transmission tests because 'the sharper sound of A cut through the static better than O'. What a cool fact! And then it sent me down a moon crater of thought that challenged my opinions about our changing language. Why did I think it was cool when it was a variation made decades ago (approved by NASA!) but not cool when it's someone younger than me saying something in a different way and saying it today? I had a real mind-pop experience of suddenly being aware of how inflexible I was being and of how amazing it is, albeit at times uncomfortable, to be experiencing language evolving in real time, before our very eyes and ears. 

And not just that, but when I actually started writing this post, I couldn't bring to mind a single specific example from any of the shows mentioned above of the so-called corruption of language. None of the instances had been problematic enough for me to add them to any kind of a log, or post about them on social media, or tell anyone about them, apart from grumbling at the screen. It was just a general recollection that 'words had been used incorrectly in place of other words'. Of course, was I tempted to rewatch episode after episode, series after series all in the name of research? Yes. But then I thought to myself: this is the way it's always been. Language evolves without us being fully aware of the changes.

It's why my etymology reference books tell me 'the word you know to mean this, actually used to mean that'. And it's why (I imagine) that, when the NASA team used 'A-OK', it's unlikely anyone stopped them to clarify, 'wait, do you mean OK?'. The astronauts would have been able to get the meaning straight away and go ahead and rocket their way up into space.

And now it's why I'm asking myself (including my subconscious) to welcome all language changes, not just from the past but today and always. I invite you to do the same: press pause (maybe literally) the next time you hear a word used 'incorrectly' and see if you can be more curious, more open, and altogether kinder about how you receive it. Especially when 'misuse' is not causing any confusion that, unlike in space, could result in a life-or-death scenario (well, okay, The Traitors being the murderous exception to that — bring on Season Three).