Once again Mr Verb reminds me that the American Dialect Society, chaired by Ben Zimmer, will soon be plumping for its ‘Word of the Year 2012’. Last year it turned out to be ‘occupy’, a distinctly disappointing decision in my opinion, given the rich choice on offer. I preferred ‘bazinga’, from the ‘Big Bang Theory’.… Continue reading WOTY – Oxford Dictionary style
It’s the time of the year once again for the WOTY! What’s this, you wonder? WOTY is the Word of the Year, each year decided on by the AmericanDialect Society. At the annual conference in Portland, Oregon, Ben Zimmer* is chairing the New Words Committee, which decides on the WOTY. This year’s nominations (from Zimmer’s VisualThesaurus)… Continue reading Jabberwoty
Since yesterday’s posting, I’ve spotted an interview on npr (National Public Radio) with Ben Zimmer, who writes the ‘On Language’ column for The New York Times Magazine. He offers the following contributions to the American Dialect Society’s ‘Words of the year‘ nominations: ‘junk’, his particular favourite – you’ll see why if you look at his… Continue reading Word of the year II