【英文Only】世界の共通言語の代表 "OK" について ： Regarding “OK” as a representative of the world's lingua franca

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タイトル：世界の共通言語の代表 "OK" について

There is likely no word more recognizable and globally understood than “OK”. Is it a word? Wherever you are, whatever you’re up to, whoever you’re with, you can likely get by with “OK”.

What’s more, not only is it universally understood, but it’s also universally understood in so many ways. The flexibility of OK is staggering. Noun, adjective, verb, adverb – as an interjection or in agreement, or just filler to kick off a sentence. (See “So…” for details.) It even has its own universally understood hand gesture, that looks like the word OK. Mind-blowing.

Heck it can spelled “Okay”, or even abbreviated as “K”, if two letters is just too much for you. OK, Ok, Okay, ok, K, k, O.K…we could go on and on. I’m ok, you’re ok.

You know where we’re going. The first published usage of OK was in 1839 in the Boston Morning Post. We think we’re clever these days using “LOL” or “ICYMI”, etc. – but at least each letter lines up with an actual word. Hold on for this, folks.

For you fans of the 1830s, there was a social trend in younger, educated circles to misspell words intentionally to use as slang – and then abbreviate them. You read that right. OK came from “oll korrect” – a misspelling of “all correct”. And it makes sense. Teenagers have been speaking in code in every era to insulate themselves, and ensure their parents are left clueless. It’s in their (less recently, our) DNA.

Whatever era, what was once cool and exclusive, often goes mainstream – or in this case, becoming the most understood phrase/word/whatever in this history of language. It’s sort of like hearing The Clash at the grocery store. But times a trillion-bazillion.

To any of those teenagers still around in their early 200s, hopefully in their maturity they are (a-hem) OK with their incredible contribution across the world until the end of time, versus feeling most of humanity has watering down their cleverly misspelled abbreviated slang.