The Changing Faces of Present and Presentation

The Changing Faces of Present and Presentation The Changing Faces of Present and Presentation The Changing Faces of Present and Presentation By Maeve Maddox Present belongs to a group of English words that, with a shift in pronunciation, may be either noun or verb. present [prÄ•zÉ™nt] n. (accent on the first syllable) a gift present [prÄ ­-zÄ•nt] v. (accent on the second syllable) to introduce, to give an award In an article about the 2009 Academy Awards, I noticed a third use of present that may be in the process of entering the language: Best Present: Copresenters Steve Martin and Tina Fey, whove been funny together on TV and film, delivered a hilarious tribute to writers that made us want to see them make another movie together. Erik Pedersen, E! Online Here Pedersen is using present as a shortened form of presentation. In the way of the web, Pedersens words have been copied by numerous bloggers and it may only be a matter of time before we hear present [prÄ“zÄ•nt] for presentation the way we hear invite [Ä ­n-vÄ «t] in place of invitation. presentation [prÄ•zÉ™n-tÄ shÉ™n] n. the act of presenting A presentation can be a gift, or it can be something like a lecture or a slide presentation. Evidence that the cropped form present for presentation may have already caught on with some users appears in these headlines used to introduce slide shows on the web: OM slide Present SHN Membership Slide Present 2006 In looking for examples of this new, unlovely use of present, I came across a (to me) new use of presentation. When used on a wedding invitation, the expression presentation preferred, means forget the gifts, we want cash. This comment from a wedding forum shows that not eveyone is comfortable with this use of presentation: My soon-to-be mother in-law is really against presentation, but its our wedding, not hers ! I guess when we showed her the sample of the invite, she didnt notice the presentation on it. Ah, the accelerate of linguistic change! Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What is the Difference Between "These" and "Those"?Capitalization Rules for Names of Historical Periods and MovementsCharles's Pen and Jesus' Name