The Vocabularist – Word up for 2016

Word from around the Globe

As we’ve seen, the English language is ever-changing. This is its enduring appeal – its ability to continually reinvent itself unlike the ‘Dead’ languages of Ancient Greek and Latin.

The Oxford University Press uses 2 main sources to scour the world for new words and phrases:

• Oxford English Corpus –  consists of entire documents sourced largely from the internet
• Oxford Reading Programme – an international network of readers who monitor a huge variety of writing, from song lyrics and popular fiction to scientific journals.

On the shortlist for 2016

Those words that remain popular could be included in the next print edition of the Collins English Dictionary, due in 2016.

• binge-watch (verb): to watch a large number of television programmes (especially all the shows from one series) in succession
• clean eating (noun): following a diet that contains only natural foods, and is low in sugar, salt, and fat
• contactless (adjective): referring to payments, smart cards, etc that utilize RFID (radio-frequency identity) technology and do not require a PIN or signature from the customer
• Corbynomics (noun): the economic policies advocated by the UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn
• dadbod (noun): an untoned and slightly plump male physique, especially one considered attractive
• ghosting (noun): ending a relationship by ignoring all communication from the other person
• manspreading (noun): the act or an instance of a male passenger in a bus or train splaying his legs in a way that denies space to the passenger sitting next to him
• shaming (noun): attempting to embarrass a person or group by drawing attention to their perceived offence, especially on social media
• swipe (verb): to move a finger across a touchscreen on a mobile phone in order to approve (swipe right) or dismiss (swipe left) an image
• transgender (adjective): of or relating to a person whose gender identity does not fully correspond to the sex assigned to them at birth

What’s your vote for in 2016?