As the Words Turn - Looking at the 2009 "Word of the Year" Honorees

Almost everything we do here at SpeakerBox comes down to words - picking the right word to describe a company or new technology, or generating words (either on our own through various content generation activities, or through through the words of influencers) - which is why I had a keen interest as the various "word of the year" accolades rolled out for 2009.

The 'winners' will likely not shock you, and most are a reflection of the explosion of social networking. From a PR and marketing point of view, these designations are reminders of the trends, moments and evolutions that shaped our respective years, and which will continue to shape the future of communications - including the undeniable ubiquitousness of social media. I thought Zeenat Rasheed said it well on her blog when she reflected that these individual words and lists "provide a candid snapshot of the national consumer psyche and help us hone in on major trends, and force us to reflect on what these changes -- such as the increasing penetration of social media, acceptance of changing technology, and the development of online social mores that differ from in-person communication -- mean for consumers, brands and marketers."

So without further ado, what were 2009's honorees? [Insert drumroll sound here.....]

The New Oxford American Dictionary tells us the word of the year was "unfriend." Sorry, one-time Facebook friends.

The American Dialect Society gave the word of the year nod to "tweet," and the word of the decade honors to "google." Grant Barrett, chair of the American Dialect Society's New Words Committee and editorial director of the online dictionary Wordnik.com explained the decisions:

"Both words are, in the end, products of the Information Age, where every person has the ability to satisfy curiosity and to broadcast to a select following, both via the Internet," Barrett said. "I really thought blog would take the honors in the word of the decade category, but more people google than blog, don't they? Plus, many people thing 'blog' just sounds ugly. Maybe Google's trademark lawyers would have preferred it, anyway."

But, not every dictionary felt compelled to give the honors to a term from the 'Information Age.' Dictionary heavyweight Merriam-Webster named "admonish" as 2009's word of the year based on search volume on the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary and its Online Thesaurus.

Webster's New-World says the honor goes to "distracted driving." While Ray LaHood, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation seems happy to see the phrase get additional attention, I can see where plenty of lexicographers might be calling for a recount, since that seems more like two words. In this video, Webster's New World Editor-in-Chief Mike Agnes gives more insight into their selection:



The Global Language Monitor listed "Twitter" and "global warming" as its words of the year and decade, respectively. And following tradition, the "word "czars" at Lake Superior State University "unfriended" 15 words and phrases and declared them "shovel-ready" for inclusion on the university's 35th annual List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness."

My home state even got in on action when CityDictionary.com named "Sconnie" (anything relating to Wisconsin, or - when capitalized - "Sconnie" can refer to a person from Wisconsin) as its local word of the year. Viva Wisconsin!

What word (or words) would have been on your "word of the year" lists? Any early favorites for 2010?

-Stephanie Wonderlick

(Photo credit: jovike)