The word of the year refers to any of various assessments as to the most important word or expression in the public sphere.
Germany
In Germany, the Wort des Jahres has been selected since 1972 (i.e., for the year of 1971 and up) by the Society of the German Language.[1]
In addition, the Unwort des Jahres (Unword of the Year or No-no Word of the Year) has been nominated since 1991, as the word in the public speech which is deemed inappropriate and an insult to human dignity.[2] See "Überfremdung" for an example.
United States
Since 1991, the American Dialect Society (ADS) has designated one or more words or terms to be the "Word of the Year" in the United States.
This is in addition to its "Word of the 1990s" (web), "Word of the 20th Century" (jazz), and "Word of the Past Millennium" (she). The society also selects words in other categories that vary from year to year, such as most original, most unnecessary, most outrageous and most likely to succeed.
A number of words chosen by the ADS are also on the list of Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year.
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2008 selections
The Global Language Monitor on December 1 announced[10] that change was it top word of 2008, followed by bailout and Obamamania. It noted that if it included 'obama-' as a root word or word stem, Obama- in its many forms (ObamaMania, Obamamentum, Obmanomics, Obamacize, Obamanation, etc.), would have overtaken both change, and bailout for the top spot. It also named financial tsunami as the top phrase, and Barack Obama as the top name.[11]
New World Dictionary has announced its short list for 2008's Word of the Year [12] and is inviting public opinion on the following final five contenders:
- leisure sickness (noun): a purported syndrome, not universally recognized by psychologists, by which some people (typically characterized as workaholics) are more likely to report feeling ill during weekends and vacations than when working[13]
- overshare (verb): to divulge excessive personal information, as in a blog or broadcast interview, prompting reactions ranging from alarmed discomfort to approval[14]
- cyberchondriac (noun): a hypochondriac who imagines that he or she has a particular disease based on medical information gleaned from the Internet[15]
- selective ignorance (noun): the practice of selectively ignoring distracting, irrelevant, or otherwise unnecessary information received, such as e-mails, news reports, etc.[16]
- youthanasia (noun): “ … the controversial practice of performing a battery of age-defying medical procedures to end lifeless skin and wrinkles; advocated by some as a last-resort measure to put the chronically youth-obsessed out of their misery … Think of it as mercy lifting.” —Armand Limnander, New York Times[17]
Webster's New World Dictionary's final Word of the Year selection will be announced via streaming video by Editor-in-Chief Mike Agnes on December 1, 2008.
The New Oxford American Dictionary selected hypermiling, a term used in North America that refers to a set of techniques used to maximize fuel economy, as its Word of the Year for 2008.[18]
2007 selection
"Subprime" was a popular choice for the 2007 word of the year and received over two-thirds of the votes cast. The meaning of "subprime" changed during the last quarter of the 20th century. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, in 1976 a subprime loan was one with a below-prime interest rate; it wasn't until 1993 that "subprime" began referring to the rating of the borrower.[19]
Other contenders were:[20]
- green- - "designates environmental concern, as in greenwashing"
- surge - "an increase in troops in a war zone", as in the Iraq War troop surge of 2007
- Facebook - all parts of speech
- waterboarding - "an interrogation technique in which the subject is immobilized and doused with water to simulate drowning"
- Googlegänger - "a person with your name who shows up when you google yourself" (portmanteau of Google and Doppelgänger)
- "wide stance" - to have a - "To be hypocritical or to express two conflicting points of view" (in reference to Senator Larry Craig after his 2007 arrest at an airport)
2006 selection
"Plutoed" beat "climate canary" in a run-off vote for the 2006 word of the year. A "climate canary" is something whose poor health indicates a looming environmental catastrophe.
"It was good that the society focused on a genuine scientific concern, though I believe the nomination came in from outer space," said committee chairman Professor Wayne Glowka.
Other words in the running for 2006 were:
- flog - "an advertisement disguised as a blog or web log"
- prohibited liquids - "fluids that cannot be transported by passengers on airplanes"
- macaca - "an American citizen treated as an alien"; "macaca" was also the Global Language Monitor's most politically incorrect word for 2006.[21]
Similar endeavors
A Word a Year
Since 2004, Susie Dent, an English lexicographer has published a column, "A Word a Year", in which she chooses a single word from each of the last 101 years to represent preoccupations of the time. Susie Dent notes that the list is subjective.[22][23][24] Each year she gives a completely different set of words.
Since Susie Dent works for the Oxford University Press, her words of choice are often incorrectly referred to as "Oxford Dictionary’s Word of the Year".
The Global Language Monitor has been selecting the Top Ten Words of the Year since 2000. To select these words and phrases it uses a statistical analysis of language usage in the worldwide print and electronic media, on the Internet and throughout the Blogosphere.
See also
Further reading
- John Ayto, "A Century of New Words", Series: Oxford Paperback Reference (2007) ISBN 0-19-921369-0
- John Ayto, "Twentieth Century Words
References
- ^ German Word of the Year
- ^ "Unword of the year" in Germany
- ^ American Dialect Society
- ^ American Dialect Society
- ^ American Dialect Society
- ^ American Dialect Society
- ^ American Dialect Society
- ^ American Dialect Society
- ^ American Dialect Society
- ^ Top Words of ‘08: Change beats Bailout and ObamaMania
- ^ Change judged top word of 2008
- ^ Webster's New World Dictionary: Word of the Year Candidates, 2008
- ^ Leisure Sickness - Webster's New World Dictionary's 2008 Word of the Year Candidate
- ^ Overshare - Webster's New World Dictionary's 2008 Word of the Year Candidate
- ^ Cyberchondriac - Webster's New World Dictionary's 2008 Word of the Year Candidate
- ^ Selective Ignorance - Webster's New World Dictionary's 2008 Word of the Year Candidate
- ^ Youthanasia - Webster's New World Dictionary's 2008 Word of the Year Candidate
- ^ Hypermiling - New Oxford American Dictionary's Word of the Year, 2008
- ^ Notes on OED's June 2008 release of new words from the Oxford English Dictionary website
- ^ http://www.americandialect.org/Word-of-the-Year_2007.pdf
- ^ The Global Language Monitor
- ^ A Word a Year: 1906-2006
- ^ A Word a Year: 1905-2005
- ^ A Word a Year: 1904-2004