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Topic Last Updated on 09-07-2024
There is an old saying that goes, “What the heart thinks, the tongue speaks.” Indeed, words reflect our lives, wishes, and concerns: the more we care about something, the more we talk about it. Can you recall how many times recently you’ve uttered the words “school,” “Internet,” “go out,” and “play”? Surely more frequently than “demographics” or “surrealism.”
Now, what if we go beyond a single individual and consider entire communities — families, nations, or even the population of the planet? By counting the words that are most commonly used over a particular period in time, we’ll see a reflection of global cultural phenomena, trends, and historically significant events.
It’s not an impossible task: even though language itself is abstract and malleable, words can be quantified and classified. But how do you count words? You wouldn’t just eavesdrop on people’s conversations! To uncover the most commonly used words, you need a space that brings together people from different backgrounds and allows you to observe and take note of any changes. That place, of course, is the Internet!
Since 2004, a language research program titled Oxford English Corpus, run by editors of the Oxford English Dictionary, has analyzed contemporary web-based publications and identified around 150 million current words each month. Every year, the most prominent and noteworthy words are chosen, and one of them is announced as the Oxford Word of the Year.
Of course, lists of the most common words will always include pronouns like “I,” “you,” “we,” as well as verbs such as “be,” “eat,” etc. Words of the year mirror new events and cultural phenomena that have grown prominent over the past 12 months. It could be a quote with serious political undertones or a funny meme from an advertisement — in other words, anything that connects diverse social groups.
In addition to the computer algorithm, editors of the Oxford Dictionary actively participate in the selection. They choose local candidates, monitor word of the year nominations by other publications, and also take into consideration suggestions made by social media users.
Wait a minute, what other publications? As a matter of fact, words of the year aren’t exclusively chosen by Oxford Dictionaries. They didn’t even come up with the idea! Staff at the British newspaper The Times say that all the way back in 1945, they received a letter from one of their readers suggesting they establish a word of the year tradition! (By the way, this reader nominated the word “atomic” for the award.) Many publications create their own lists, and not just the English-language or scientific editions. However, here we’ll focus just on the Oxford award. So, are you ready to travel back in time?
Words | 2004 CHAV
Let’s start with English memes. In Great Britain, chav is a disparaging name for the youth subculture commonly associated with aggressive behavior, hooliganism, and flashy clothing styles.
In 2004, everyone was making fun of the chavs. The fashion brand Burberry, favored by the young troublemakers, even had to stop producing certain articles of clothing (for example, its checked baseball caps) to distance itself from the problematic chavs.
2005 SUDOKU (UK) & PODCAST (US)
This year marked two winners — one for the UK and one for the United States. “Podcast” is an obvious choice: 15 years ago, it took the radio, music, and audiobook industries by storm. Combining the words “iPod” and “broadcast,” podcasts caught on as many Americans could now tune into their favorite show directly from their media players. The Japanese puzzle Sudoku, though, emerged long before 2005! So, why was it voted Word of the Year? Turns out, in November of 2004, The Times printed Sudoku in its crossword section, and Great Britain went crazy over it. There were even entire radio programs and TV shows dedicated to the game!
2006 BOVVERED (UK) & CARBON-NEUTRAL (US)
To be carbon-neutral means balancing carbon emissions into the atmosphere in order to prevent global warming. It’s obvious now, but in 2006, this issue was just beginning to be publicly discussed by ordinary citizens and not just scientists. While people in America were talking about environmental problems, the British were making jokes as usual. Bovvered is a distortion of the word “bothered.” That’s the way it’s pronounced by the loutish heroine of the acclaimed comedy series The Catherine Tate Show. Thus, the Word of the Year once again conjured up the image of a difficult, misbehaving teen.
2007 CARBON FOOTPRINT (UK) & LOCAVORE (US)
The wave of concern about global warming only reached Great Britain a year later. The British began to seriously discuss their carbon footprint, the total amount of all greenhouse gas emissions produced by an individual. Meanwhile, Americans embraced locavorism, a diet that involved only consuming food grown nearby. The idea is to support the local economy by not buying imported foods and avoiding products that were imported from overseas. It also means eating fresher and healthier vegetables and fruits.
2008 CREDIT CRUNCH (UK) & HYPERMILING (US)
Yes, this is the year when the global financial crisis took place! The world’s economic problems were reflected in language. The British began to talk about the emerging credit crunch, when banks became less willing and, in some cases, effectively refused to lend money. Americans tried to combine economics with the fight against climate change: hypermiling means driving a vehicle with minimal fuel consumption. One way to do this, for example, is to monitor the car’s tire pressure, since under-inflated tires significantly increase fuel consumption.
2009 SIMPLES (UK) & UNFRIEND (US)
Do you know when Facebook first came out? No, not in 2009, but five years prior. By 2009, Americans seemed to have grown fed up with social media and began to remove unwanted visitors from their profiles. “Unfriend” became a more popular phrase than “add friend.” In the meantime, Great Britain was again embracing a meme, this time from an advertisement. “Simples!” is the catchphrase of a cartoon meerkat who uses it to explain things he believes should be easily understood. It’s somewhat of a twist on the famous line, “Elementary, my dear Watson!”
2010 BIG SOCIETY (UK) & REFUDIATE (US)
In 2010, memes were replaced by words with profound political implications. The British were quoting Prime Minister David Cameron, who put forward a plan for “big society.” This refers to a system wherein most of the power is taken away from the government in favor of local communities and volunteers. Meanwhile, former governor of Alaska Sarah Palin coined an expression with a strong negative connotation: refudiate is a blend of the words “refute” and “repudiate.”
Words | 2011 SQUEEZED MIDDLE
This is another quote from the world of politics. This time, the editors of Oxford Dictionaries agreed on a single word for both the US and the UK. The first person to talk about the “squeezed middle” was a member of the British parliament, Ed Miliband. That is how he referred to members of the middle-class who suffered under inflation, lost their savings, and were experiencing significant economic setbacks. The spokesperson for the Oxford Dictionaries team, Susie Dent, explained the choice as follows: “It’s something that, in a way, we all feel we belong to.”
2012 OMNISHAMBLES (UK) & GIF (US)
“Omni-” is a prefix that means “all, every,” and the word “shambles” is defined as a state of chaos and disarray. This neologism first appeared on a satirical show that aired on the British channel BBC. Politicians gladly picked up the word, using it to point out problems in several domains. While the British were harshly criticizing the law and the government, Americans discovered the magic of GIFs. Although this format was created back in 1987, it became widespread only in 2012.
Words | 2013 SELFIE
Finally, some familiar words, right? We probably don’t need to explain what a selfie is and why it was named Word of the Year. Selfies are still ubiquitous today, and it looks like they are here to stay. Considered niche in the recent past, the term went mainstream seven years ago. According to the Oxford Dictionaries team, usage of the word “selfie” increased by 17,000 % in 2013.
2014 VAPE
Let us remind you again — smoking is bad for your health! The inventors of electronic cigarettes tried to refute this statement by suggesting that inhaling vapor is much safer. Nevertheless, the World Health Organization does not seem to agree that vaping is entirely harmless. Debates about the safety of vaping reached their peak in 2014, and long-term research studies are still being conducted. Meanwhile, it is prohibited to sell electronic cigarettes and other vaping products to people under the age of 18.
Words | 2015 EMOJI
Five years ago, there was a revolution in the linguistic community: for the first time in history, Oxford Dictionaries gave the award to an emoji instead of a word. In fact, the term “emoji” tripled in usage compared to the previous year. The editors decided that in this case, it would be better to pick a specific pictograph, and so they conducted research to find the most frequently used emoji. The winner was the Face with Tears of Joy.
