Oxford Word of the Year to be chosen by people
- November 23, 2022
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Oxford Word of the Year to be chosen by people
Subject: Msc
Context:
- For the first time, people from across the world will vote to choose the Oxford Word of the Year 2022.
- What is the issue:
- For the first time, people from across the world will vote to choose the Oxford Word of the Year 2022.
- A team of expert lexicographers have narrowed down a longlist of worthy contestants to a final choice of three words i.emetaverse, #IStandWith, and goblin mode.
- The voting, which started on November 21, will close on December 2.
- Last year ‘Vax’ was adjudged word of the year.
- How the three words are relevant to the year in a different way:
- In ‘metaverse’, there is a conceptual future brought into the vernacular in 2022. From hybrid working in virtual reality, to debates over the ethics and feasibility of an entirely online future, usage of this word quadrupled in October 2022 compared to the same period last year.
- ‘#IStandWith’ recognises the activism and division that has characterized this year. From the war in Ukraine, to the Depp v. Heard lawsuit, this ‘word’ coined on social media to align one’s views to a cause or person can often further foster dispute and sometimes even hate speech in its polarising nature.
- ‘Goblin mode’ is another relatively new concept: the idea of rejecting societal expectations put upon people, in favour of doing whatever one wants to. Early usage dates back to 2009/10, but as the world emerges from lockdown, the phrase has been coined in rejection of returning ‘back to normal’ after a fake ‘quote’ from actress and model Julia Fox brought the term back into the mainstream.