Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Google's Finger in the Linguistic Dike

In Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates (1865), we learned the story of the little Dutch boy who, by promptly putting his finger in a hole in a leaking dike, averts a disastrous flood.

Google is attempting something similar with the English language.

According to the Official Google Blog, the word "Google" is slowly slipping from trademarked status into common usage. Google's lawyers say this is "Bad. Very, very bad." Here's what Google insists upon:

Good -- Using Google as a noun to refer to Google.

Well, if you must -- Using google as a verb to refer to using the Google search engine.

BAD! -- Using google as a generic verb for searching on the internet, such as, "I googled that information on Ask.com."

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