The concept of a "word of the year" has become a staple in the English language world, with dictionaries and publishing houses competing to come up with the most popular term that captures the essence of a given year. But do these words really hold any value beyond their fleeting popularity?
According to linguists, the process behind selecting a word of the year is often more about drawing attention than making a scientific analysis of language trends. "It's not an entirely objective, scientific process," says Robbie Love, a sociolinguist at Aston University. "You'll find that they all try to be different."
In recent years, words like "rage bait" and "goblin mode" have become annual fixtures in the world of lexicography. But how long do these terms truly endure? According to data analysis conducted by The Guardian, more than a third of chosen words are internet slang terms or owe their meanings to technological devices.
Words that were once chosen as word of the year often fall out of favor quickly. Take "nomophobia," for example – the fear of being without your phone – which has seen its usage drop by 96% in just two years. Even more obscure words like "youthquake" and "NFT" have seen significant declines in use.
So why do linguists keep participating in this annual ritual? According to Jonathan Green, an author and lexicographer, it's all about marketing. "It's a way of getting people to talk about language," he says. "And if they're choosing words that are probably more likely to be used by younger people in online discourse, then that's a great way of engaging younger people with conversations about language."
But don't expect these words to last forever. As Jonathan Dent, senior editor at the Oxford English Dictionary, points out, "whether a word of the year survives as an active and widely recognised part of the language in the long term is really less important than that it has something to say about where we are now, this year."
In reality, words of the year often capture the zeitgeist of their time, but they rarely stand the test of time. So while these annual declarations may be fun and engaging, they're unlikely to have a lasting impact on our language or culture.
According to linguists, the process behind selecting a word of the year is often more about drawing attention than making a scientific analysis of language trends. "It's not an entirely objective, scientific process," says Robbie Love, a sociolinguist at Aston University. "You'll find that they all try to be different."
In recent years, words like "rage bait" and "goblin mode" have become annual fixtures in the world of lexicography. But how long do these terms truly endure? According to data analysis conducted by The Guardian, more than a third of chosen words are internet slang terms or owe their meanings to technological devices.
Words that were once chosen as word of the year often fall out of favor quickly. Take "nomophobia," for example – the fear of being without your phone – which has seen its usage drop by 96% in just two years. Even more obscure words like "youthquake" and "NFT" have seen significant declines in use.
So why do linguists keep participating in this annual ritual? According to Jonathan Green, an author and lexicographer, it's all about marketing. "It's a way of getting people to talk about language," he says. "And if they're choosing words that are probably more likely to be used by younger people in online discourse, then that's a great way of engaging younger people with conversations about language."
But don't expect these words to last forever. As Jonathan Dent, senior editor at the Oxford English Dictionary, points out, "whether a word of the year survives as an active and widely recognised part of the language in the long term is really less important than that it has something to say about where we are now, this year."
In reality, words of the year often capture the zeitgeist of their time, but they rarely stand the test of time. So while these annual declarations may be fun and engaging, they're unlikely to have a lasting impact on our language or culture.
... word of the year is kinda like a fun pop culture trend, but let's be real, most of these words are just fleeting internet slang 
... I don't really get why linguists keep participating in this annual thing, they should just focus on making language more accessible and helpful for actual people 
... like, who needs "goblin mode" when we've got everyday problems to solve? 
And yeah, most of these words will just disappear into obscurity in a year or two 
... maybe instead of word of the year, we should focus on words that actually make a lasting impact on society 
... just some thoughts 
"goblin mode" anyone? 
they come out, they're trendy for a sec, then they're gone. nomophobia is already down 96% usage in like 2 yrs 
what even is the point? and don't even get me started on how subjective it all is... like, who decides which words are gonna be "the ones" this year? 
. And don't even get me started on how marketing-y it all feels. It's like they're just trying to get people talking about language without actually making any real point 
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. But then two years go by and nobody uses the word anymore? Come on! 
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it's just a marketing gimmick, let's be real 
i mean don't get me wrong, it's kinda cool to see what words are trending and all that, but do we really care about them 6 months later? probably not 
like nomophobia, yeah who even uses that anymore? 
like goblin mode was cute for a sec, now it's just cringeworthy 
i mean, what does that even say? not much, tbh 
. It's like, yeah, we get it, you want us to talk about language online, but what does that really say about our language in general? 
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It's all just a marketing gimmick, like they want people to sound cool and interesting for a year and then forget about it.
. And honestly, most of the time they're just internet slang terms that die after a hot second 
. And maybe that's the real point – to reflect on where we are now and what's important to us 
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... that would be kinda cool 
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I mean, one minute it's trending and the next it's already forgotten 
Like nomophobia, remember that one? Already dropped by 96% usage since they declared it word of the year! 
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I feel like these words of the year are just a fleeting trend... like, we get excited for a sec, and then they're forgotten 
. And yeah, linguists might do it for marketing reasons, but at the end of the day, it's still just a shallow attempt to make language sound 'cool' 
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