| Kitchen Table Lingo |
 |
 |
Shalibah!(This is where we begin to bongogobble)When the English Project launched a collection of what we called Kitchen Table Lingo in the Summer of 2008 we had no idea that we were opening the door to such a whirlwind of words. They poured into our little kitchen through the windows, the doors - and some even through the catflap – at such a rate that we were overwhelmed by the influx. The media took up the idea with great relish and countless local radio stations, newspapers and even TV channels across the UK (and further afield) threw themselves into it with great gusto. In fact, there were so many demands on us by the media we sometimes felt quite frangled about it all. We were so busy that we sometimes ended the day just dumping out clothes on the floordrobe. Of course, though, it was gratifying to see such interests and enthusiasm. For a news story it showed remarkable resilience. But, like everything else, the media then moved on after a couple of weeks to something else. And quite right too. After all there’s credit crunch and a financial crisis to berwyn on about. What do we do with all these words?For us, though, the collection of Kitchen Table Lingo marked an important step. It confirmed what we believed - that ordinary English speakers (and not just the poets and the intelligentsia) both enjoyed playing with words and, as the radio phone-in demonstrated, even talking about words – IN PUBLIC! In fact, what Kitchen Table Lingo showed was that every English speaker is part of the chattering classes.That was why we could not afford to let that marvellous collection of words go to waste. And we were delighted when our friends at Virgin Books came on board and offered to publish Kitchen Table Lingo - A first book of home-made words. (If you’ve not bought it yet then don’t hold back! You’ll enjoy it. No belming.) But this is just the start. Kitchen Table Lingo is a tribute to the daily inventiveness, creativity and imagination of ordinary English speakers crafting words for themselves. There are many more words out there. Some of them are yours. And now we want them all - from around the world (and especially Australia and the USA) So now it’s your time to talk, vote, play and investigate Kitchen Table Lingo. |