Terminology - The ADS 2018 WOTTIES (4)

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The “linguists, lexicographers, grammarians, etymologists, researchers, writers, editors, students and independent scholars” of the American Dialect Society (ADS) have voted! As a reminder, the ADS was founded in 1889, for the purposes of studying the English language of North America, its variation and intersections with other languages and dialects.

This year, the ADS-selected Word of the Year (WOTY) 2018 resonates with the organization's longstanding activity, at the frontiers of language contact. The term selected is tender-age camp/shelter/facility, referring to “a government detention center for asylum seekers’ children”, a euphemistic term, arising within the context of the 2018 US border situation with Mexico.

Tender-age camp/shelter/facility is winner-of-them-all, in the category of WOTY 2018, after competing with the following, no less politically-sourced shortlist of terms:

• yeet: indication of surprise or excitement
• (the) wall: proposed barrier along the US/Mexico border to prevent illegal crossings (Lu, 2018 - NYTimes)
• X strong: expression of solidarity after a tragedy in a particular place, as in “Pittsburgh Strong”
• Individual 1: pseudonym for Trump in documents from the Mueller investigation
• white-caller crime: the phenomenon of white people calling police on black people for doing mundane things (Harriot, 2018 - The Root)

The ADS nominates and selects additional WOTTIES in the following selected categories, including EMOJI of the year. The asterisks indicate the winning WOTY, within the category shortlist of competing terms. The WOTTIES vote is organized by the ADS Committee on New Words(1), chaired by Ben Zimmer, columnist at The Wall Street Journal. The vote has taken place each year, since 1990, on the occasion of the Society's Annual Meeting, currently underway this year, in New York City, on Jan 3-6, 2019.  

POLITICAL WORD OF THE YEAR

•  * (the) wall: proposed barrier along the US/Mexico border to prevent illegal crossings (Lu, 2018 - NYTimes)
• nationalist: displaying a staunch belief in one’s own nation (used by Trump and supporters), also shortlisted for a Merriam Webster 2018 WOTY
• blue wave: major Democratic electoral gain (Balz, 2018 - The Washington Post)
• caravan: a procession of Central American asylum-seekers to US/Mexico border (BBC.com, 2018)
• lodestar: guiding principle (used in op/ed by anonymous White House staffer), also shortlisted for a Merriam-Webster 2018 WOTY  

DIGITAL WORD OF THE YEA

•  * techlash: the backlash against tech innovators (Foroohar, 2018 - Financial times)
• demonetize: remove ads from a YouTube channel to deprive the creator of revenue
• blackfishing: pretending to be black on social media by using makeup and hair products (Virk & McGregor, 2018, BBC)
• deepfake: realistic digitally composed video used to misrepresent someone
• finsta: fake Instagram account 

MOST USEFUL

•  * Voldemorting: avoiding mention of unpleasant person or topic by using a replacement term. The term is eponymic, borrowed from Lord Voldermort, the main antagonist character in the Harry Potter books. Lord Voldemort is You-know-Who, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. (McCulloch, G. 2018, Wired)
• himpathy: the flow of sympathy away from female victims toward their male victimizers (Germano, 2018 - Chronicle of Higher Education)
• orbiting: ending communication with someone while still monitoring them on social media
• preferred pronoun: a pronoun that a person opts to use for himself/ herself/ themself.etc.
• situationship: undefined or unlabeled personal relationship
• self-care: care for oneself

 MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED

• * single-use: made to be used only once and destroyed, also the Collins Dictionary WOTY 2018.
• climate grief: negative feelings caused by climate-change-related weather events
• cli-fi: science fiction relating to climate change
• hothouse Earth: a scenario of runaway global warming   

MOST CREATIVE

•  * white-caller crime: the phenomenon of white people calling police on black people for doing mundane things (Harriot, 2018 - The Root)
• girther: person skeptical of the president’s reported weight and height
• procrasti-: related to procrastination
• today years old: an indication that someone has just recently learned something
• treasonweasel: an epithet for a traitorous person   

EUPHEMISM OF THE YEAR

•  * racially charged: circumlocution for “racist”
• executive time: presidential downtime
• Individual 1: pseudonym for Trump in documents from the Mueller investigation
• tender-age shelter/ camp/ facility: government detention center for asylum-seekers’ children

HASHTAG OF THE YEAR

•  * #nottheonion: reporting something true that seems like satire from The Onion
•  #neveragain: call for gun-control measures after the Parkland shooting
•  #thankunext: expressing gratitude and readiness to move on (from Ariana Grande)
• #timesup: movement protesting sexual assault 

EMOJI OF THE YEAR

 *thinking face (indicating bemused pondering)

 lobster (adopted by trans community)

 nail polish (indicating air of nonchalance)

 facepalm (indicating exasperation, disbelief)

Note  (1): Zimmer points out that although some of the winning and contending WOTTIES are not new to the English language of North America, it is the new and notable uses or combinations of terms that make them WOTY candidates and winners. The selection captures prominence of these terms in the 2018 "public discourse and preoccupations" (ADS 2018 WOTY Press Release). 

 References

ADS – WOTY 2018 Press Release (Jan 4, 2019)

https://www.americandialect.org/wp-content/uploads/2018-Word-of-the-Year-PRESS-RELEASE.pdf

ADS – All the Words of the Year, 1990 to the present

https://www.americandialect.org/woty/all-of-the-words-of-the-year-1990-to-present
Balz, D. (Sept. 3, 2018) Eight questions for the midterm elections: A blue wave or not?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/8-questions-for-the-midterm-elections-a-blue-wave-or-not/2018/09/03/79d2ca88-ad64-11e8-b1da-ff7faa680710_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.aff3ada08dae
BBC.com (Nov. 26, 2018) Migrant Caravan: What is it and why does it matter?
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-45951782

Ben Zimmer: Columnist, The Wall Street Journal

https://www.wsj.com/news/author/8050 
Collins Dictionary 2018 WOTY
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/woty
Foroohar, R. (Dec. 16, 2018)  Year in a word: Techlash
https://www.ft.com/content/76578fba-fca1-11e8-ac00-57a2a826423e
Germano, W. (Sept. 30. 2018) Himpathy is a societal illness, but at least we have a word for it. 
https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca/2018/09/30/himpathy-is-a-societal-illness-but-at-least-we-have-a-word-for-it/ 
Harriot, M. (May 5, 2018) White-caller crimme: The worse wypipo policce calls of all times. 
https://www.theroot.com/white-caller-crime-the-worst-wypipo-police-calls-of-1826023382
Lu, D. (Jan. 5, 2019) The Border Wall: What has Trump built so far?
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/01/05/us/border-wall.html 
McCulloch, G, (10-09-2018).  Welcome to Voldermorting, the ultimate SEO DIS, in Wired Magazine. 
https://www.wired.com/story/voldemorting-ultimate-seo-diss-resident-linguist/

Merriam-Websters Words of the year 2018

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/word-of-the-year-2018-justice

Virk, K and N. McGregor (Dec. 2018) Blackfishing: The women accused of pretending to be black. 
https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-46427180

Terminology – WOTTIES 2018 (3) Merriam-Webster

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of American English has selected justice as WOTY 2018. This term topped dictionary searches, which increased 74% for this term, compared to 2017.

Indeed, justice has been at the forefront of US events in 2018. Whether it was recently during the Congressional hearings for the Supreme Court Justice vacancy, or during the many additional headline-grabbing events connected to the #Metoo movement,  justice was at stake. Justice in support of women who are survivors of sexual violence.

The shortlist of potential Merriam-Webster WOTTIES is no less interesting. The following 10 words are runners-up.

• nationalism – On October 22 and 23, 2018, after the POTUS announced a rally in Texas, saying « I am a Nationalist. Nationalist.  Nothing wrong with that word. Use that word. Use that word. » Merriam Webster recorded an 8000% increase in searches for the term « Nationalism ». For anyone unsure of what the word means. Merriam Webster’s definition states: “loyalty and devotion to a nation, especially exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations or supranational groups.”

• pansexual – meaning “of, relating to, or characterized by sexual desire or attraction that is not limited to people of particular gender identity or sexual orientation". The term spiked in April 2018, after it was used in a Rolling Stone Magazine feature article about the singer Janelle Monáe (Spanos, April 2018).

• lodestar – a term that spiked early Sept. 2018, in reference to Senator McCain’s death, meaning “one that serves as an inspiration, model, or guide.” The term originally meant “a star that leads or guides (especially the North Star).”

• epiphany – with the metaphorical meaning of “having to do with the sudden perception of the essential nature or meaning of something, or an illuminating realization”. The term spiked after it appeared in the trailer of a BTS pop song Epiphany: Love yourself.

• feckless – meaning “ineffective” or “worthless”. According to Merrian-Webster, “The feck in feckless is a Scottish word meaning 'value' or 'worth'. The antonym 'feckful' meaning 'efficient' or 'effective' is used rarely." This term spiked in regards the Mexican border immigration policy that separates children from their families.

• laurel – this term spiked 3300% in May following an experiment where listeners might hear “laurel” or “yanny” depending on the frequency of the audio. The experiment was  run by the New York Times (Salam & Victor, May 2018).

• pissant – this term of abuse meaning “insignificant” spiked 115,000%, after it was used as an insult in reference to the quarterback Tom Brady’s daughter.

• respect - the title of one of Aretha Franklin’s biggest hits, who died on August 16, 2018, prompting spikes in the search for the term “respect”.  

• maverick - “an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party." Maverick is a term that spiked after the death of Senator McCain, on August 25, 2018.

• Excelsior! – Salutation used by the Marvel Comics publisher, editor, and writer Stan Lee. The term means “higher” in Latin and is etymologically related to “excel” and “excellent”. The term spiked following Lee’s death in November 2018 (Youtube -Comic-con 2014)

References

BTS Jin - Epiphany

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GiBbhq7hfI
Marvel World
https://www.marvel.com/

Me too Movement

https://metoomvmt.org/

Merriam-WEbsters Words of the year 2018

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/word-of-the-year-2018-justice

Respect – Aretha Franklin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FOUqQt3Kg0

Salam, M. & D. Victor (May 15, 2018) Yanny or Laurel: How a sound clip divided America, in the NY Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/15/science/yanny-laurel.html

Spanos, B. (April 26, 2018) Janelle Monae frees herself in Rolling Stone Magazine

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/janelle-monae-frees-herself-629204/

Stan Lee saying Excelsior at Salt Lake Comic-con 2014

https://youtu.be/O6mNqQmojxE

Terminology – WOTTIES 2018 (2) Collins Dictionary

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The Collins Dictionary Word of the Year 2018 is the term single-use.

According to the Collins dictionary, single-use is “a term that describes items whose unchecked proliferation are blamed for damaging the environment and affecting the food chain”. The term ‘single-use refers to “ products – often plastic – that are ‘made to be used once only’ before disposal." The 2018 Collins WOTY covers the meaning of single-use evoking ocean plastic pollution and its deadly effects on marine wildlife, as well as the accumulation of single-use plastic in landfills as non-biodegradable waste. Thus, single-use products have been especially targeted in global campaigns to reduce their use.

According to Collins, the frequency of the term single-use has increased threefold since 2013, in an effort to raise public awareness about the negative planetary effects of single-use products. 

Incidentally, about a dozen categories of single-use products, such as straws, paper plates, cotton swabs, stirrers and swizzle sticks, were banned by the European Parliament on Oct. 24, 2018 (Le Monde). The European Parliament voted overwhelmingly for the ban with 571 votes in favor, 53 against, and 34 abstentions. The European Federation of Plastics found the measures disproportionate. They blame ocean plastics pollution on the mismanagement of waste. Contrary to linguistic evidence, they also blame plastics pollution on a lack of public awareness.

Collins lexicographers monitor 4.5 billion words per year. They select a shortlist of potential WOTTIES which are no less interesting than the winner of them all. The following is the Collins shortlist of 2018 Wotties.  

• backstop - a system that will come into effect if no other arrangement is made.

• floss – a dance in which people swing their hips in one direction while swinging their arms in the opposite direction with their fists clenched. People flossing look as though they are pulling a piece of dental floss back and forth between their legs.

• gaslight (verb) - to attempt to manipulate (a person) by continually presenting them with false information until they doubt their sanity.

• gammon – etymologically related to the 15th-century French term “jambon” referring to ham. Term used by Charles Dickens in 1838 in his novel Nicholas Nickleby in reference to “a large, self-satisfied, middle-aged man who professes an extreme patriotism in large part to disguise his essential selfishness and corruption.” Term used in 2018 on Twitter as an antidote to “snowflake”, meaning “red-faced angry person”.

• #Metoo - cultural movement that seeks to expose and eradicate predatory sexual behavior, especially in the workplace.

• plogging – activity of picking up litter while jogging in an effort to address global pollution in beauty spots. The term is a blend of the Swedish term plocka meaning to pick and the term jogging.

• vegan - person who refrains from using any animal products whatsoever for food, clothing, or any other purpose.

• whitewash (verb) - to cast a white actor in the role of (a character from a minority ethnic group) or to produce (a film or play) using white actors to play characters from a minority ethnic group.

• VAR – abbreviation for video assistant referee. The term was written in the Laws of the Game by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) and used for the first time during the 2018 FIFA World cup.

References

Collins Dictionary WOTY 2018 

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/woty

Collins 2018  WOTY shortlist

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/word-lovers-blog/new/collins-2018-word-of-the-year-shortlist,451,HCB.html

Etymology corner – Collins WOTY  2018 - Why single-use?
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/word-lovers-blog/new/etymology-corner-collins-word-of-the-year-2018,449,HCB.html

Le parlement européen votre pour l’interdiction des produits en plastique à usage unique (Oct. 24, 20180 Le Monde

https://www.lemonde.fr/pollution/article/2018/10/24/les-eurodeputes-pour-l-interdiction-des-produits-en-plastique-a-usage-unique_5374014_1652666.html

Terminology – WOTTIES 2018 (1) Cambridge Dictionary

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

‘Tis the WOTY season! WOTY (rhymes with potty) is an acronym for Word Of The Year.

The British Cambridge Dictionary, People’s Word of the Year 2018 is nomophobia. This means that according to the Cambridge Dictionary worldwide audience, nomophobia is the word that best sums up 2018.

Nomophobia, huh?

Nomophobia is “fear or worry at the idea of being without your mobile phone or unable to use it”. Nomophobia is a technically a blend, collapsing several words into a new one, in this case “No mobile phone phobia”. The earliest use of the term nomophobia is traced back to 2008. Because of its staying power, nomophobia was added the Cambridge Dictionary early in 2018. The term is popular rather than scientific. In other words, you may never find it listed in the American Psychiatric Association DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders).

The rest of the words in the short list of four WOTTIES, that the Cambridge Dictionary editors select, is always as interesting as the single word that topped them all by popular vote. 

The short list of Cambridge Dictionary 2018 WOTTIES includes the following:

•  gender gap - "a difference between the way men and women are treated in society, or between what men and women do and achieve"

•  ecocide - "destruction of the natural environment of an area, or very great damage to it"

• no platforming - "the practice of refusing someone an opportunity to make their ideas or beliefs known publicly, because you think these beliefs are dangerous or unacceptable".

References

DSM-5 - American Psychiatric Association

https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/dsm

The People’s Word Of The Year 2018

https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2018/11/29/the-peoples-word-of-2018/

About words – Cambridge Dictionary Blog

https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/