Social networks such as Facebook and MySpace have invaded families’ living rooms, corporate offices, and mobile phones. Now they are making their mark on the New American Oxford English Dictionary.
The dictionary has chosen “unfriend” as its word of the year, making it clear that the lingo on social networks trumped lingo in other markets. Unfriend, meaning to disapprove someone from being your friend, was chosen over other contenders, including netbook, sexting, intexticated, hashtag and paywall.
“The words that become word of the year are there because they have a special significance in that calendar year,” said Christine Lindberg, senior lexicographer of U.S. dictionaries for Oxford University Press. “Unfriend represents an entire social-networking culture and has that appeal of addressing the fact that Facebook is here to stay and not just a means of communication.”
Used as early as 1659
Unfriend was also chosen for its linguistic appeal, according to Lindberg. The Oxford dictionary provides a citation for the verb form of unfriend as early as 1659, and the essence of the meaning hasn’t changed much.
“It is a very old word that has been adopted by a new generation,” Lindberg said. “Now it has a very explicit designation as a verb used for social networking.”
Personally, Lindberg likes the word because it fits into the criteria of making a statement about a subculture, and it also holds up linguistically.
Picking a word of the year isn’t an easy task, she said. “If they think it is something we just threw together at the last minute, nothing is further from the truth,” she added.
Lindberg, one of many lexicographers for the dictionary, said she jots down words as she hears them throughout the week. By the end of any given week she has a collection of notes. After checking if the words have…