[Kennedy Felton]

HERE’S A QUESTION FOR YOU. HOW MANY WORDS ARE IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE?

THE ANSWER TO THAT IS SUMMED UP IN ONE WORD: UNDETERMINED.

WHILE SOME LINGUISTS MAY SAY THERE ARE OVER 1 MILLION WORDS – OTHER EXPERTS SAY IT’S JUST NOT POSSIBLE TO COUNT. NOT ONLY DOES IT BRING UP THE QUESTION OF WHAT CONSTITUTES A WORD – BUT THE FACT IS LANGUAGE IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING.

WHICH BRINGS US TO THIS YEAR. 20-24.

AND A QUESTION THAT SURELY SHOULD HAVE A DEFINITIVE ANSWER:

WHAT’S THE WORD OF THE YEAR FOR 20-24?

WELL, AS IT TURNS OUT, IT DEPENDS ON WHO YOU’RE ASKING.

THE COLLINS WORD OF THE YEAR IS “BRAT” – MEANING “CHARACTERIZED BY A CONFIDENT, INDEPENDENT, AND HEDONISTIC ATTITUDE.”

THIS MEANING WAS INSPIRED BY POP SINGER CHARLI X-C-X AND ALBUM NAMED BRAT.

WHILE “BRAT” CAN STILL MEAN A MISBEHAVED CHILD – THIS YEAR IT WAS THE NEW ADJECTIVE VERSION OF THE WORD FROM THE CAMBRIDGE-BORN SINGER THAT TURNED IT INTO COLLINS’ NUMBER ONE CHOICE.

THIS RECENTLY COINED DEFINITION – TOOK OFF AFTER CHARLI X-C-X TWEETED ABOUT VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS AND MANY OF HER FANS STARTED EMBRACING A “BRAT SUMMER.”

COLLINS SAYS “BRAT” IS CERTAINLY NOT A NEW WORD – IT’S BEEN IN CONVERSATION SINCE AROUND THE 1500S – BUT LIKE MANY OF 2024’S MOST POPULAR WORDS – IT’S BEEN GIVEN A NEW LIFE WITH A MODERN MEANING.

THAT GOES AS WELL AS FOR DICTIONARY DOT COM’S WORD OF THE YEAR – “DEMURE” WHICH THIS YEAR TOOK ON THE DEFINITION TO DESCRIBE  “REFINED AND SOPHISTICATED APPEARANCE OR BEHAVIOR IN VARIOUS CONTEXTS, SUCH AS WORK.”

ITS POPULARITY LARGELY ATTRITUBE TO TIKTOKER JOOLS LEBRON.

DICTIONARY DOT COM SAYS THE TERM INCREASED IN USAGE NEARLY 1200 PERCENT FROM JANUARY TO THE END OF AUGUST WHEN LEBRON STARTED POSTING HER VIDEOS.

AND HOW ABOUT A WORD USED BY CHAUCER IN 1380? “MANIFEST” IS THE CAMBRIDGE DICTIONARY’S WORD OF THE YEAR – WHICH IS DEFINED THESE DAYS AS “TO USE METHODS SUCH AS VISUALIZATION AND AFFIRMATION TO HELP YOU IMAGINE ACHIEVING SOMETHING YOU WANT, IN THE BELIEF THAT DOING SO WILL MAKE IT MORE LIKELY TO HAPPEN.”

CAMBRIDGE POINTS TO OLYMPIAN SIMONE BILES AND MUSICIANS LIKE DUA LIPA AND SABRINA CARPENTER USING THE TERM LEADING TO IT BEING LOOKED UP NEARLY 130 THOUSAND TIMES THIS YEAR.

HOWEVER, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE PROFESSOR SANDER VAN DER LINDEN WARNS WHILE THE WORD IS POPULAR – THERE’S MORE TO ACHIEVING A DREAM THAN JUST THINKING ABOUT IT.

SUPER: Professor Sander van der Linden | University of Cambridge

“Manifesting is what we would call a form of pseudo-scientific thinking. Having realistic goals, being positive about those goals, affirming the things that work in life and rewarding yourself and other people for achieving those goals, those are all evidence-based steps towards achieving meaningful outcomes but simply wishing that they happen without doing anything is not.”

AND WITH WORD OF THE YEAR BEING IN CONTENTION — MERRIAM-WEBSTER’S ENTRY FITS RIGHT IN. POLARIZATION  — MEANING “DIVISION INTO TWO SHARPLY DISTINCT OPPOSITES; ESPECIALLY, A STATE IN WHICH THE OPINIONS, BELIEFS, OR INTERESTS OF A GROUP OR SOCIETY NO LONGER RANGE ALONG A CONTINUUM BUT BECOME CONCENTRATED AT OPPOSING EXTREMES.”

MERRIAM-WEBSTER SAYS THIS WORD DATES BACK TO THE 1800S – WITH AMERICANS LOOKING UP THE DEFINITION THIS YEAR – TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEX STATE OF AFFAIRS IN OUR COUNTRY AND AROUND THE WORLD.

NOW IF ALL THESE WORDS AND DEFINITIONS ARE MAKING YOUR HEAD SPIN – HOPEFULLY YOU ARE NOT FEELING THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS’ WORD OF THE YEAR.

BRAIN ROT – MEANING “SUPPOSED DETERIORATION OF A PERSON’S MENTAL OR INTELLECTUAL STATE, ESPECIALLY VIEWED AS A RESULT OF OVERCONSUMPTION OF MATERIAL (NOW PARTICULARLY ONLINE CONTENT) CONSIDERED TO BE TRIVIAL OR UNCHALLENGING.”

THE PUBLISHERS OF THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY SAYS THE TERM INCREASED IN USAGE FREQUENCY BY 230 PERCENT FROM 2023 TO 2024 –  THOUGH THE FIRST RECORDED USE WAS BY HENRY DAVID THOREAU IN 1854.

TODAY IT’S MEANT TO CAPTURE CONCERNS ABOUT THE IMPACT OF CONSUMING EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS OF LOW-QUALITY ONLNE CONTENT, ESPECIALLY ON SOCIAL MEDIA.

SO WHILE THE WORD OF THE YEAR MAY STILL BE IN QUESTION – THERE IS NO DOUBT WITH A NEW YEAR AHEAD – NEW WORDS ABOUT TO POP UP IN OUR VOCABULARY – OR AT LEAST NEW MEANINGS.

YOU CAN TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT.

FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS, I’M KENNEDY FELTON.

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