Photo credit: Ladbible.co.uk
DEC 9, 2022 (11:12)
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY THE PUBLIC HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO CHOOSE THIS YEAR'S OXFORD WORD OF THE YEAR AND AFTER THIS IT MAY WELL BE THE LAST TIME....
BY VICTORIA WADLEY
For the first time in history the public have been allowed to choose this year's Oxford word of the year and after this it may well be the last time. Oxford University Press gave people three different words to choose from as 2022's word of the year, before 340,000 English speakers across the globe voted.
With that being said I can reveal that the official 2022 Oxford word of the year with a resounding 93% of the vote (a massive 318,956 individual votes) is: 'Goblin mode'.
For those of you not in the know - 'Goblin mode' is a phrase that exploded on to the scene via the internet this year and, according to Oxford, can be defined as "a type of behaviour which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations." There's something so wonderfully majestic about imagining Oxford's top lexicographers trying to formulate an eloquent definition for a phrase as 'Goblin mode'.
In case you were wondering what lost out to the magnificent 'Goblin Mode' second place was 'Metaverse', the virtual reality space that allows users to interact with each other in a computer-generated environment, earning 14,484 votes.
And in third place was the hashtag '#IStandWith' which became popular online this year among activists, for example, thousands of people took to social media this year to share that they were #standingwith Ukraine in their ongoing conflict with Russia. The hashtag earned just 8,639 votes. A point worth noting in this absolutely insane story is that the only real word that was in the running for word of the year is Metaverse - since neither 'Goblin mode' nor '#IStandWith' are singular words, so much as phrases - and it didn't win.
Who doesn't love a public vote!?
Considering they gave the public the choice, the good people at Oxford seem to have taken the whole thing in good spirits. Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Languages commented:
"We were hoping the public would enjoy being brought into the process, but this level of engagement with the campaign caught us totally by surprise.
The strength of the response highlights how important our vocabulary is to understanding who we are and processing what's happening to the world around us.
Given the year we've just experienced, 'goblin mode' resonates with all of us who are feeling a little overwhelmed at this point. It's a relief to acknowledge that we're not always the idealised, curated selves that we're encouraged to present on our Instagram and TikTok feeds.
Alternatively, Collins Dictionary has chosen their word of the year, that could in fact sum up 2022 or indeed any year since Corona Virus- 'Permacrisis' which is defined as 'An extended period of instability and insecurity, especially one resulting from a series of catastrophic events.
Not sure about you but I miss the good old days of Boaty McBoatface pre Permacrisis.
Source Ladbible
The strength of the response highlights how important our vocabulary is to understanding who we are and processing what's happening to the world around us.
Given the year we've just experienced, 'goblin mode' resonates with all of us who are feeling a little overwhelmed at this point. It's a relief to acknowledge that we're not always the idealised, curated selves that we're encouraged to present on our Instagram and TikTok feeds.
Alternatively, Collins Dictionary has chosen their word of the year, that could in fact sum up 2022 or indeed any year since Corona Virus- 'Permacrisis' which is defined as 'An extended period of instability and insecurity, especially one resulting from a series of catastrophic events.
Not sure about you but I miss the good old days of Boaty McBoatface pre Permacrisis.
Source Ladbible
WHAT WORD WOULD YOU HAVE CHOSEN? DECEMBER 9 14 ANSWERS | ||
| GOBLIN MODE | 1 | 7.1 % |
| METAVERSE | 3 | 21.4 % |
| #ISTANDWITH | 2 | 14.3 % |
| PERMACRISIS | 8 | 57.1 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
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