A Wonderleaf question
Where do new words come from?
a real page from the book
New words come from people needing names for new things, sounds, ideas, tools, and feelings. We build them from older words, borrow them from other languages, copy noises, shorten phrases, or invent them in stories. A word spreads when enough people understand it and keep using it.
The fun part is that a word does not need a grand ceremony to begin. One person can say a useful or funny new word at a kitchen table, in a book, or online, and if other mouths like it, it can travel into everyday speech.
Wonder words
- borrow
- compound
- slang
- dictionary
Try it out
Invent a name for a very specific feeling, then see if everyone at dinner understands it without a long explanation.
Read the whole picture book
Watercolour scenes, straight answers, about three minutes cover to cover.
Open the picture bookKeep wondering
- Why are there so many different languages in the world?
- Why do people in different places have accents?
And the next question?
Ask anything — Wonderleaf writes and illustrates a picture book for it. That's the whole idea.
Ask your own question