Once again, the massive reference book 「現代用語の基礎知識」("Gendai Yōgo no Kiso Chishiki," "The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Words") is on sale. This annual publication that tracks additions to, and changes in, the Japanese language and various world developments over the previous year is a whopper — this year it's 1,484 pages. And thanks to the boost in the consumption tax last April, its price exceeded ¥3,000 for the first time ever (¥3,132, tax included).

I think it's still well worth the outlay. Its publisher 自由国民社 (Jiyūkokumin-sha) promotes the book thusly: 言葉を探すだけではなく、読み進んでも楽しい (Kotoba wo sagasu dake de wa naku, yomi susunde mo tanoshī, You can not only search for words, but it's also enjoyable to proceed with reading [about them]). 辞書にないことばをフォローし、画像も充実 (Jisho ni nai kotoba wo forō shi, gazō mo jūjitsu. Follow words that aren't in the dictionary, [it's] also complete with illustrations).

Of course, some words start becoming archaic even in our lifetimes, and their usage betrays one's advancing age. Last summer I had to coach myself out of referring to short pants as 半ズボン (han-zubon) after I realized that younger people refer to them as 半パン (han-pan).