SonjaWhich word described best the changes in our lives over the past year?
Language is alive and constantly changing, just like the world around us.
Therefore, dictionary writers every year discuss which word should become word of the year (WOTY).
In 2015, they even chose something that was not a word – a smiley, and not just any smile. They chose 😂 – a tears of joy smiley.
The word of the year in English is chosen by the creators of three large dictionaries.
At Collins, in 2019 they chose the phrase climate protest and at Oxford climate crisis.
At Merriam-Webster, they chose the gender-neutral pronoun they in English, which replaces the pronouns he and she. It has also been chosen by American linguists as the word of the decade.
Since 2016, we have also selected the Slovenian Word of the Year. The finalists of the 2019 ZRC SAZU selection for the word were:
- carbon-free
- millennial
- non-reader
- newcomer
- climate
- coercion
- scooter
- sarcisem (deriving from the surname of Slovenian prime minister)
- trade war
- wolf
The word that most captured the spirit of 2019 is climate. A total of 563 people voted for it.
The word climate is also newspaper Delo‘s Word of the Year.
The most original new word is likotisk – the printing of a character or shape, which is to become the Slovenian term for 3D printing.
The most searched word in the Fran dictionary is technical.
This year, with the support auspices of the Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing of Slovenia, we also chose the gesture of the year. It’s constitution.
Points to Consider
- Which would be your of the year?
- How do you usually express your feelings?
- Do you think the children write enough in school?
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The original version of this article was published on January 10th.
English translation courtesy of JL Flanner, Total Slovenia News, an English language website with news from and about Slovenia.
Mateja
Rebecca
