<
https://theconversation.com/most-words-of-the-year-dont-actually-tell-us-about-the-state-of-the-world-heres-what-id-pick-instead-246190>
"It seems to come earlier every year: publishers and dictionaries choosing
their “word of the year”. Initially intended to sum up a meaningful trend or
feeling that represents the past year, the exercise is now becoming a
competition to identify and highlight fashionable slang.
Collins went with
brat, the Charli XCX album phenomenon as applied to
reckless, feisty females (and briefly to Kamala Harris). Cambridge’s word was
manifest, influencer-speak for “wish hard and make it happen”.
Oxford, after a poll, nominated
brain rot, the mind-numbing result of
scrolling and online obsessing, with
slop (low-quality content produced by
AI) as runner-up. Dictionary.com chose
demure, used ironically to promote a
more dignified pose or attitude on the part of online showoffs.
What strikes me – a lexicologist (word analyst) – is that these picks show not
only how aspects of society are changing, but how the nature of words
themselves evolves in unexpected ways."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
