Words of the Year

How flexible is the English language? Lots, apparently.

A news story from Reuters on the announcement of the TV words of the year, truthiness and Wikiality, by Steven Colbert on his program The Colbert Report.

Here's a quote from the article: Global Language Monitor [who monitor language trends in an annual survey] defined "truthiness" as used by Colbert as meaning "truth unencumbered by the facts." "Wikiality," derived from the user-compiled Wikipedia information Web site, was defined as "reality as determined by majority vote," as when astronomers voted Pluto off their list of planets last week. (I would point out here that Pluto never fit the parameters of what defined a planet and I would also, cynically, say that the reason for it's planethood is that it was the only planet discovered by an American... but that's a whole t'other argument.)

A quick trip to AskOxford.com has a list of the some of the new words that have been entered into the latest edition of the Oxford Dictionary.

Words like:

aerobicized or aerobicised
adj. (of a person's body) toned by aerobic exercise: aerobicized Hollywood women.
blowback
n. 2. chiefly US the unintended adverse results of a political action or situation.
celebutante
n. a celebrity who is well known in fashionable society.
– origin 1930s: blend of celebrity and debutante.
hardscape
n. chiefly US the man-made features used in landscape architecture, e.g. paths or walls, as contrasted with vegetation.
– derivatives
hardscaping n.
hoody (also hoodie)
n. informal a person, especially a youth, wearing a hooded top.
– origin 1960s: of unknown origin.
mentee
n. a person who is advised, trained, or counselled by a mentor.
retronym
n. a new term created from an existing word in order to distinguish the original referent of the existing word from a later one that is the product of progress or technological development (e.g. acoustic guitar for guitar).
– origin 1980s: blend of retro- and -onym.
riffage
n. informal guitar riffs, especially in rock music.
shoulder-surfing
n. the practice of spying on the user of a cash-dispensing machine or other electronic device in order to obtain their personal identification number, password, etc.
– derivatives
shoulder-surfer n.
upskill
v. [often as noun upskilling] teach (an employee) additional skills.
of an employee) learn additional skills.
wedge issue
n. US a very divisive political issue, regarded as a basis for drawing voters away from an opposing party whose supporters have diverging opinions on it.
Yogalates (also trademark Yogilates)
n. a fitness routine that combines Pilates exercises with the postures and breathing techniques of yoga.
– origin 1990s: blend of yoga and Pilates.

For the latest additions, go here; for an explanation on how words get into the OED, go here.

See? This language of ours is a dynamic one. I've got to wonder though, what kind of language will we be speaking in fifty years if the one we're speaking now is changing so rapidly?