As I was going through my article titles from last year, there was one topic that I wanted to cover this year. I wrote it on the 6th of December 2023, but this time I was a bit early, so I can only give you information from one source.
First of all, if you want to read the article, you can click on the link.
Our topic is the words that are chosen in 2024. Because these words can provide us with predictions and even more evidence about our society, the direction in which our language has started to evolve and what influences it. As we all know, revolution begins with language. Both personally and socially.
Some major online dictionaries, publishers and universities have been doing this for years. Since they are recognised, they make and share their selections every year (some even every month) without losing continuity. As I do not know the exact release dates, I have seen that the others have not announced anything yet; I have to go on the basis of the “Collins Dictionary”, which is the only one I have come across.
In addition to this dictionary, in the past year I have quoted from Cambridge Dictionary, Macquarie Dictionary, Merriam-Webster and Oxford English Dictionary. If you are interested, I suggest you visit their websites in December.
Let's start learning and questioning with Collins Dictionary.
Photo by Romain Vignes on Unsplash
And the Collins Oscar goes to the word “Brat”. Yes, that's their choice for “The Word of the Year 2024”. And why is that?
First of all, let's look at the dictionary definition of the word:
(adjective) “characterised by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude”
No doubt this will sound strange to many of you. In fact, the word brat is already in the dictionaries, so it is not a new word. But a word has been given a new meaning. How often it will be used will be seen and discussed over time.
In fact, the word suddenly finds a place in the online media as a tool for expressing a personal political opinion and becomes the talk of the town. Only in this medium and on this topic, of course.
As you know, the US election is close and there are two dominant candidates. One is Kamala Harris and the other is Donald Trump. A singer shares a post on the subject as follows.
If we take its known meaning and try to understand it, it sounds rather negative and humiliating, or so I thought. This may be due to the fact that English is not my first language. However, as Collins also states that the word comes from the above post, I think it would be more correct to look at it away from its original meaning. Moreover, the meaning I have given before the word also reveals a positive expression
Although I read the comments, I could not understand whether this was a supportive message or not. Strangely, I soon realised that I was not alone when I saw Harris supporters insulting and thanking the author of the post. Everyone's confused, but she released an album with the word in it in October, so we're talking about a word that's been gaining notoriety ever since.
On the other hand, I think the question should be directed in a different direction, rather than whether this expression is positive or negative: why was this word chosen?
The reason may be to draw attention to the issue that defined the year and will preoccupy the US (and indirectly the world) for years to come, and perhaps even to change the direction of attention. While it may not seem that one person's post or the choice of an online dictionary will do this, let's remember what we said at the beginning: The revolution begins with language.
Thinking about this, I remembered Donald Trump's post from years ago.
Post by user “realDonaldTrump” on platform X
Although this meaningless sentence felt as if he had left it unfinished or fallen asleep while writing it in a drunken stupor, it caused quite a stir at the time. It was talked about in many news reports, the meaning of the word was pondered, and there were those who took it to be a secret message and branded it. It also appeared in some dictionaries.
So, yes, sometimes such unexpected influences make people talk about it, and the most important thing for a politician is to be talked about, no matter what form it takes. Whoever or whatever is talked about a lot becomes important. This rule has never changed.
But is their choice of words limited to that? No, not at all. Although the word of the year has been chosen, there are other words that have been recognised and rated as being widely used or having made a mark. Shortlisted words.
The first is “Brainrot”. The juxtaposition of the words brain and rot creates a new structure.
(noun) “an inability to think clearly caused by excessive consumption of low-quality online content”
If the online material you are exposed to, or consciously choose, does not stimulate you intellectually and causes you to idly peruse it, you will become “Brainrot”. “Doomscrolling”, for example, another word chosen by Merriam-Webster and Macquarie in recent years, is actually an invitation to “Brainrot”. “Doomscrolling” is the word used to describe the constant skipping of content on a social media platform. You can think of it in the same way as the word “zapping”, which everyone used to use in the days when television was dominant.
In fact, the word is not just related to the technological denominator or even the idea of social media. If you think about it, it is also a kind of reproach on the psychological reflection of it. This means that these words do not come spontaneously. The reason is that we are already exposed to it. It is a way of expressing the disadvantage of social media. This is not just a situation dedicated to the youngest generation, but a word dedicated to the whole of humanity.
The reason I make the connection with the young generation is that words are generally popularised online and through certain channels. The pioneers are usually the younger generation, because using different words and feeling knowledgeable starts at a young age. The worst thing is that, as time goes by, no one stops this behaviour.
Our next word is about time. The word “Era”, another word meaning epoch and period, is already in the dictionary.
(noun) “a period of one’s life or career considered as being of a distinctive character”
As you can see, they actually decided to deal with it on a distinctly human basis. So it refers to all those phases, all those periods that somebody goes through in their life. Every one of those periods where we feel more rebellious, more crazy, more depressed or more calm, and every one of those periods that do not fit holistically with the basis of our character. Again, as I mentioned in the first paragraph, I can't help but see an expression that points to the new generation.
Another source I read said that it could be a reference to the “Eras” tour, the highest-grossing tour of all time by the singer Taylor Swift, who has taken this generation by storm. So it could be the result of another popular interaction.
Another word that smacks of the internet is “Looksmaxxing”. I have come across so few of them that I can say it is a very new and limited expression.
(noun) “attempting to maximize the attractiveness of one’s physical appearance”
We can say that social media is disrupting aesthetic perceptions every day. There is almost no end to it; with each passing period I come across things decorated with completely different concerns. Although most of them are based on the person, you can say that it is also reflected in art. It can affect any area where aesthetics is or can be valid.
Surprisingly, Oxford University Press chose “Rizz” as their word of the year last year. It was defined as “style, charm or glamour; the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner”. It can be seen as an expression of people's aesthetic influence and superiority over one another.
I think the choice of the word “Looksmaxxing” is probably a continuation or reification of this kind of thinking. To be honest, even at my age, I sometimes find it difficult to understand the terms used by young people in the global online environment in which I find myself. I really have to either understand the context or ask. The funny thing is that simple thinking can be useful, but it can also be misleading. Because what always comes to mind is the combination of two separate words, which is also convenient. But in cases where this is not the case, the word takes you out of the context before you can grasp it.
We can see an example from the point of view I mentioned with our other word, “Rawdogging”. When the words "raw" and "dog" are put together, they do not make sense at first. In fact, the meaning of the word, which is described as slang, is as follows
(noun) “the act of undertaking an activity without preparation, support, or equipment”
In fact, the dictionary meaning is very descriptive. In my opinion, it gives the meaning as “to rush in”. To act suddenly, without waiting.
When I think about why such a decision is made, the first thing that comes to mind is haste. It is a concept that can be used to speed things up or to satisfy the desire to act on impulse. I think it can be favoured by people who are active, excited, crazy, caught up in the spontaneity of life, who want to leave their mark on moments by adding a rush to them, and especially young people.
Perhaps the origin of the word is the desire to somehow fulfil the dream of living the moment (or to reduce the anxiety caused by the fear of doing so), as well as haste.
“Anti-tourism” is a combination of two words that give themselves away in a direct way and have become established in many languages around the world.
(noun) “opposition to or action against large-scale tourism”
Although I do not think it is necessary to dwell on it for too long, the reason for the choice and use of this term must be the fact that this way of thinking is becoming more and more widespread. Its reality and prevalence seem to be reflected in the masses as well as in the dictionary. Moreover, while the course of the world is changing with waves of migration, it is no longer known or cared who is a tourist and who is a migrant (legal or not).
What the word probably means is a policy that governments would not prefer; rather, it should be a discourse that people use for any “foreigner” who is not like them. I personally observed this in Barcelona in 2018, where you could occasionally see "Tourist go home!" signs on the walls in popular parts of the city. Moreover, the reason I say all this is that the “large-scale tourism” part of the meaning evokes more than the usual perception of tourism. It may be the cry of people who do not want to see their demographic structure deteriorate and their traditional way of life disrupted.
Let's move on to the word “Delulu”. I don't think it's a new word, and it's actually a term derived from the word “delusional”. In the dictionary it is a slang adjective.
(adjective) “utterly mistaken or unrealistic in one’s ideas or expectations”
In fact, I am sure there are many words and phrases that have this meaning. Although I think "Are you crazy?" or "Are you out of your mind?" can give this meaning, I think the reason for this change is once again social media.
Because all kinds of manipulations of simple words (adding a suffix to the word, changing a few letters) are preferred if they are funny and unusual, an internet/social media language is formed. One of the examples of this is the word "car" being used for "cat". This is because the growl that cats make when they are relaxed and happy is similar to the sound of a car engine.
Another word that is more appealing to us writers and readers, and not so hard to understand, is “Romantasy”.
(noun) “a literary genre that combines romantic fiction with fantasy”
I didn't know we were in a market dominated by beautiful princesses who find their prince charming and adventurous princes who slay the dragon and rescue the princess. I think this type of fiction is back in its current form, and strangely enough, it has even had to find a new name for itself. My only wish is that they are not be as trivial as those in the “Young Adult” category, aimed at the 12-18 age group.
I'm not sure if our word has resurfaced because of political concerns. It is “Supermajority”.
(noun) “a large majority in a legislative assembly that enables a government to pass laws without effective scrutiny”
Actually, there is an equivalent of this word in the dictionary: It means the requirement of more than a simple majority. In other words, it refers to the requirement to win a majority of votes above a certain percentage in the legislature.
However, in its newly added meaning, “Supermajority” refers to the power of the government to pass laws independently of opposition scrutiny when it has a majority. In this case, it means that the government has the power to act without the consent of the opposition. Contrary to the first meaning, laws can be passed without the need to exceed a certain percentage. This may be because the government is in a dominant position with a large number of MPs.
Perhaps there has been an increase in the number of such overwhelming majorities in parliaments and assemblies around the world, which has given the word its second meaning, in order to give the meaning more quickly and clearly.
It's taken too long, but we'll finish it. I talked a lot, didn't I? I talked a lot, a lot. I've written a lot, but I haven't finished yet. What have I said? I've written a lot, but I haven't finished yet.
If you ask what I am doing, our last word “Yapping” will explain.
(noun) “talking at length, especially about inconsequential matters”
Have we, as humanity, begun to talk more? It's hard to say whether it's an increase or a decrease, isn't it? If we accept as true that most words have evolved through social media and the energy of new generations, what does the word “talking” mean? Do you think texting (in the digital sense) or face-to-face conversation (in the physical sense) come to mind?
I think individualism is growing in the world. At least locally there seems to be an introversion. On the other hand, technology, as it has been for a long time, allows us to talk to the other side of the world. As you know, when things are accessible, we use them less. Just as we do when we have access to the most information and cannot shake off our ignorance.
If we take into account the frequency of use of the word and the fact that it is presented by the dictionary, I think what is really important is to be in communication rather than to talk. I don't think our communication has been hindered by the abbreviations we've made since the early days of the Internet, even with different words like these or emoticons/emojis that can replace many words.
Because people instinctively need to tell stories. This was the case even in the time of the cave men; they talked about their experiences around the fire and experienced different emotions together.
Sometimes another voice would be heard and they would feel strange. Then they might take it over and shout in unison. It was different from the others in the shelter, it had its own voice. Now only they understood what it meant when it was said.
Perhaps it was not as established as the words, and not everyone could make the sound. But it was established, it had a reputation, and it had a meaning. They knew when it was used and what it was used for.
Just like these words. As time changes, as the environment in which the community takes place expands, the communication will remain the same, but new words will come to life. The cycle of language will endure and its revolution will be eternal.
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