"...what does it take for a set of phonemes to be a word? What is it beyond pronounceability, recognizability, and conveyance of meaning that is required to endow a group of phonemes with the blessings of word status? I've never had anyone even attempt an answer. I'm assuming here, for purposes of discussion, that 'conveyance of meaning' implies that at least some significant subset of the speakers of a given language will, in some specific context, understand the meaning of the word-candidate in that language." asks faldage
At the risk of being called a (hush) Prescriptionist I'll delimit the meaning of all words. As such...
A word is a symbolic representation of information about the encircling environment but only when it is understood by an entity which thinks.
Well faldage, what do you think?
