WEIRD: 'Unfriend' : Word of the Year
“What word best sums up 2009? How about the word ‘unfriend’, that’s the new Oxford American Dictionary’s 2009 word of the year. Unfriend means, of course, to remove someone as a friend on a social networking web site such as Facebook. Each year, Oxford University Press tracks how the English language is changing and chooses the word that best reflects the mood of the year.”(KCAL)
Other terms considered include ‘netbook’ and ‘sexting’. The Oxford University Press’s decision has sparked a conversation in the media about the English language, and how it has changed in response to the internet’s rising popularity.
CTV News: President of Oxford University Press explains the process of picking the word of the year, and why unfriending deserves the title for 2009.
Urbandictionary.com: Popular user-generated online dictionary has multiple entries defining what it means to ‘unfriend’
ABC News: The term “defriending” is a better fit for the description.
CBS News: Looks at how the Internet, and websites such as Facebook, are changing definitions in the English language.
Source: http://www.newsy.com/videos/unfriend_word_of_the_year
So is it unfriending or defriending? And more importantly, should newfangled Internet-based jargon be entered into conventional dictionaries?
ashaindra
WEIRD:
Top 25 Most Common Words of 2009
In a related story, HuffingtonPost has released the top 25 most common words of 2009 accorgin to The Language Monitor. The words are:
1. Global Warming (2000)
2. 9/11 (2001)
3. Obama (2008)
4. Bailout (2008)
5. Evacuee/refugee (2005): (Survivors of Katrina who had to be rescued)
6. Derivative (2007)
7. Google (2007)
8. Surge (2007)
9. Chinglish (2005)
10. Tsunami (2004)
11. H1N1 (2009)
12. Subprime ( 2007)
13. dot.com (2000)
14. Y2K ( 2000)
15. Misunderestimate (2002)
16. Chad ( 2000): (a la "Hanging Chad" in Florida after the Bush vs. Gore election)
17. Twitter (2008 )
18. WMD (2002) (Weapons of Mass Destruction)
19. Blog (2003)
20. Texting (2004)
21. Slumdog (2008) (Popularized by Slumdog Millionaire)
22. Sustainable (2006)
23. Brokeback (2004) (From Brokeback Mountain)
24. Quagmire (2004) (Referring to the Iraq War)
25. Truthiness (2006) (A contribution from Stephen Colbert)
It is interesting to note that Global Warming is the most popular word, yet it doesn't seem to be one that the Media is too concerned about other than passing mention of the issue.
Hammer
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Since social networking (esp. facebook) seems to be the highlight of the year (even have my mom and dad on FB), I think it makes sense to take a word that captures in mood. Since, "facebook" as a verb cannot mean anything, and "poke" is already in the dictionary, "unfriend" seems to be best choice.
In recent times, the evolution of language has a lot to do with brand or product names which have moved from daily use products (like walkman, xerox, etc) to internet (like google, digg, unfriend, mizozo etc.).
johnGilt
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While I am no Nostradamus, I think that Facebook, MySpace and the like are just a passing fad. While there presence will likely be felt for generations to come, their impact on society will not be so substantial in the not so distant future.
It is likewise important to keep in mind that the English language, as well as all languages, are dynamic in nature. The fact that currently the web is major force in changing languages is primarily due to the fact that the web is reasonably new. As more and more people embrace the web, this feeling of excitement and curiosity will dwindle. The next generation is going to be raised on the internet, not knowing life without it. I am sure that in this generation languages will find a new source to derive new words from.
shark
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Shark, you're an idiot. Facebook and other social networks aren't going anywhere. New ones may replace the old, but they are here to stay.
Personally, I like "unfriend" over "defriend", but now we are just nitpicking.
anonymous
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