Linguification

Linguification is a linguistic phenomenon that occurs when a factual observation is turned into a linguistic claim, often without justification. The term was coined by linguist Geoffrey K. Pullum, a critic of the trend. [http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003650.html]

An example cited by Pullum is the following sentence (from an article in an Australian newsletter)::"It's difficult to find a piece of writing in the mainstream press which mentions the word 'bisexual' without finding that it is immediately followed by the word 'chic'."It is linguification because an observation about the media — that bisexuality is regarded as chic — is turned without evidence into a claim about language, namely that the word "bisexual" is frequently followed by the word "chic". [http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003312.html]