'2017 was not a great year for the English language'
January 7, 2018 8:12 PM Subscribe
The 2017 word of the year is youthquake (?!) and fake news and feminism and complicit and populism and Kwaussie, but also sontaku ("the pre-emptive, placatory following of an order that has not been given") and aporofobia ("peniaphobia" ("phobia of poor people")) and 初心 ("original intention or initial yearning"). ✍️ "Words of the Year" by Louis Lemand (quoted), The New Yorker. ✍️ "The worst words of 2017" (Quartz).
Yourhquake sounds like the title of a book by an academic who meets a cruel fate in a Ben Wheatley adaptation of a J. G. Ballard book from the 70s. It practically wears a mustard turtleneck, square glasses and muttonchops whilst smoking a pipe.
posted by Artw at 8:30 PM on January 7, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by Artw at 8:30 PM on January 7, 2018 [16 favorites]
I picture Youthquake! as a conference put on by a well-meaning mainstream church to counteract the greying of its congregation.
posted by clawsoon at 8:35 PM on January 7, 2018 [49 favorites]
posted by clawsoon at 8:35 PM on January 7, 2018 [49 favorites]
I thought Youthquake was something from the 1970's.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:42 PM on January 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:42 PM on January 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
...and I'm pretty sure that this is why I have that association. Hosted just a few miles from Moose Jaw, it's an event that goes back to 1963, though it's more charismatic/evangelical than mainstream. If you're teen from 13-18 who wants to see great Canadian Christian bands and get fired up for the Lord, it's the place to be. Youthquake!
posted by clawsoon at 8:46 PM on January 7, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by clawsoon at 8:46 PM on January 7, 2018 [7 favorites]
I always thought that "youthquake" had something do to with breathless reports in Esquire about Andy Warhol and the Factory scene.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 9:10 PM on January 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 9:10 PM on January 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
and Mary Quant and swingin' sixties London
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 9:23 PM on January 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 9:23 PM on January 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
I'm pretty sure "youthquake" dates from the 60s in relation to the Mods and 60s London. I read it in a Mary Quant bio but can't confirm it right now.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 9:24 PM on January 7, 2018
posted by TWinbrook8 at 9:24 PM on January 7, 2018
grrrr
posted by TWinbrook8 at 9:24 PM on January 7, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by TWinbrook8 at 9:24 PM on January 7, 2018 [5 favorites]
The youthquake was caused by fake news.
posted by Brian B. at 9:27 PM on January 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Brian B. at 9:27 PM on January 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
Youthquake was the name of a Malaysian paper's youth section in the 90s and maybe early 2000s. Haven't heard it since then!
posted by divabat at 9:33 PM on January 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by divabat at 9:33 PM on January 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
2017 is when Dead or Alive finally got their due.
posted by bongo_x at 10:08 PM on January 7, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by bongo_x at 10:08 PM on January 7, 2018 [8 favorites]
The Dutch word of the year is not particularly uplifting either: appongeluk (app-accident), a traffic accident caused by someone who was using their phone. But "regenboogtaal" (rainbow-language, or gender-neutral language) was in third place, which is kind of nice -- despite the shouting from The Usual Suspects over (horrors!) the NS changing train announcements from starting with "Ladies and Gentlemen" to "Riders." (Regenboogtaal was slightly edged out by "fipronilei," or an egg tainted in the fipronil scandal, which is a word whose utility is hopefully of limited duration.)
posted by sldownard at 11:13 PM on January 7, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by sldownard at 11:13 PM on January 7, 2018 [5 favorites]
Youthquake is Oxford's worst pick since 2012's omnishambles.
posted by fairmettle at 11:15 PM on January 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by fairmettle at 11:15 PM on January 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
Youthquake was the name of a Malaysian paper's youth section in the 90s and maybe early 2000s. Haven't heard it since then!
NST shut it down lmao. I'll pass the news to the ex-beat editor and my other ex-colleagues
posted by cendawanita at 11:51 PM on January 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
NST shut it down lmao. I'll pass the news to the ex-beat editor and my other ex-colleagues
posted by cendawanita at 11:51 PM on January 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
> Artw:
"Youthquake sounds like the title of a book by an academic who meets a cruel fate in a Ben Wheatley adaptation of a J. G. Ballard book from the 70s. It practically wears a mustard turtleneck, square glasses, and muttonchops whilst smoking a pipe."
I wear square glasses and I used to have mutton chops. I do not have a mustard turtleneck, nor any sort of blazer, patched elbows or not. I am also a smoker, although of cigarettes and not pipes.
So, I am a youthtremor then?
posted by Samizdata at 12:56 AM on January 8, 2018
"Youthquake sounds like the title of a book by an academic who meets a cruel fate in a Ben Wheatley adaptation of a J. G. Ballard book from the 70s. It practically wears a mustard turtleneck, square glasses, and muttonchops whilst smoking a pipe."
I wear square glasses and I used to have mutton chops. I do not have a mustard turtleneck, nor any sort of blazer, patched elbows or not. I am also a smoker, although of cigarettes and not pipes.
So, I am a youthtremor then?
posted by Samizdata at 12:56 AM on January 8, 2018
"Youthquake" was a stupid word back in the 60s when advertisers were looking for ways to package products aimed at younger audiences.
"Collusion" is the proper word for 2017. What does it mean, exactly? Oh, I see from the apologia by Oxford editor Casper Grauthwohl (are you fucking with me?) that words with political resonance were out of the running: "At best the story these words tell is too narrow, and at worst it feels like poking a wound that may no longer be fresh but nonetheless still throbs."
So, at a time when the world desperately needs George Orwell, the Oxford Dictionary plays for laughs. Because everything is entertainment -- news, politics, the language itself.
Dammit! Those kids are on my lawn again!
posted by CCBC at 1:02 AM on January 8, 2018 [4 favorites]
"Collusion" is the proper word for 2017. What does it mean, exactly? Oh, I see from the apologia by Oxford editor Casper Grauthwohl (are you fucking with me?) that words with political resonance were out of the running: "At best the story these words tell is too narrow, and at worst it feels like poking a wound that may no longer be fresh but nonetheless still throbs."
So, at a time when the world desperately needs George Orwell, the Oxford Dictionary plays for laughs. Because everything is entertainment -- news, politics, the language itself.
Dammit! Those kids are on my lawn again!
posted by CCBC at 1:02 AM on January 8, 2018 [4 favorites]
They really missed their opportunity to give us"youthfake," such a low-hanging apple. What an omnishambles!
posted by chavenet at 1:31 AM on January 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 1:31 AM on January 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
2017 is when Dead or Alive finally got their due.
Steve McQueen passed away some time ago ...
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:44 AM on January 8, 2018
Steve McQueen passed away some time ago ...
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:44 AM on January 8, 2018
From the article: In 1965, emerging from a post-war period of tumultuous change, Diana Vreeland, editor-in-chief of Vogue, declared the year of the youthquake.
So yeah, not new, just being used a lot. Although I haven’t seen it here in the U.S., I guess the Oxford Dictionary can be excused for having a British perspective.
posted by TedW at 4:01 AM on January 8, 2018
So yeah, not new, just being used a lot. Although I haven’t seen it here in the U.S., I guess the Oxford Dictionary can be excused for having a British perspective.
posted by TedW at 4:01 AM on January 8, 2018
The choice of Chinese word looks like a bit of gaming by the Party to me; 初心 is part of a current prominent slogan.
The single character seems more of a 'natural' choice as bike-sharing etc. has been a hot topic.
posted by Abiezer at 5:20 AM on January 8, 2018
The single character seems more of a 'natural' choice as bike-sharing etc. has been a hot topic.
posted by Abiezer at 5:20 AM on January 8, 2018
I’m glad to hear I’m not the only person still furious about ~~youthquake~~.
posted by Itaxpica at 5:58 AM on January 8, 2018
posted by Itaxpica at 5:58 AM on January 8, 2018
The Oxford editorial board is just one ill-timed natural disaster away from being branded monsters.
posted by fairmettle at 6:28 AM on January 8, 2018
posted by fairmettle at 6:28 AM on January 8, 2018
Although I haven’t seen it here in the U.S., I guess the Oxford Dictionary can be excused for having a British perspective.
Meanwhile, in Blighty: literally the first use of 'youthquake' I noticed in 2017 was a news story covering Oxford Dictionaries' choice of word. I asked the full-time editor at one of my freelance gigs, and she was drawing a blank too. Between us we edit and read a broad range of materials in many flavours of English, but 'youthquake' wasn't in any of them.
'Word of the year' stuff comes from the same marketing hellhole as tedious news filler reporting words added to or dropped from new editions of dictionaries. But despite being forearmed, I still find it annoying, especially when genuinely informative pieces on language use get lumped in with this crap.
Talking of annual pagefiller churn, has anyone sighted a Blue Monday article yet?
posted by mushhushshu at 6:47 AM on January 8, 2018
Meanwhile, in Blighty: literally the first use of 'youthquake' I noticed in 2017 was a news story covering Oxford Dictionaries' choice of word. I asked the full-time editor at one of my freelance gigs, and she was drawing a blank too. Between us we edit and read a broad range of materials in many flavours of English, but 'youthquake' wasn't in any of them.
'Word of the year' stuff comes from the same marketing hellhole as tedious news filler reporting words added to or dropped from new editions of dictionaries. But despite being forearmed, I still find it annoying, especially when genuinely informative pieces on language use get lumped in with this crap.
Talking of annual pagefiller churn, has anyone sighted a Blue Monday article yet?
posted by mushhushshu at 6:47 AM on January 8, 2018
I'm pretty sure "youthquake" dates from the 60s in relation to the Mods and 60s London. I read it in a Mary Quant bio but can't confirm it right now.
It was originally coined by Diana Vreeland in 1965. This recent VF piece quotes it's first appearance in Vreeland's Vogue. It is an awesome and fabulous example of Vreeland-ian babble:
posted by octobersurprise at 6:48 AM on January 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
It was originally coined by Diana Vreeland in 1965. This recent VF piece quotes it's first appearance in Vreeland's Vogue. It is an awesome and fabulous example of Vreeland-ian babble:
“There is a marvelous moment that starts at thirteen and wastes no time. No longer waits to grow up, but makes its own way, its own look by the end of the week. The dreams, still there, break into action: writing, singing acting, designing. Youth, warm and gay as a kitten yet self-sufficient as James Bond, is surprising countries east and west with a sense of assurance serene beyond all years . . . The year’s in its youth, the youth in its year. Under 24 and over 90,000,000 strong in the U.S. alone. More dreamers. More doers. Here. Now. Youthquake 1965.”Here. Now. Uncouthquake. I need a Vermouthquake. 2017.
posted by octobersurprise at 6:48 AM on January 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
I'm so glad they included "everything." Sets my teeth on edge. Not quite as bad as "awesomesauce," but damn close.
posted by holborne at 7:23 AM on January 8, 2018
posted by holborne at 7:23 AM on January 8, 2018
I've never heard anyone use "youthquake", whether in print or in person. Is this someone trying to make fetch happen? Because if so, I'd like them to stop trying to make it happen.
The choice of "fake news" seems defensible, if depressing. I'm not sure if I'd call 2017 The Year of Fake News over 2016, but I think it's possible that it'll be the year when that term slips firmly into the zeitgeist as a concept that goes beyond what the individual words mean; to say "fake news" today is to imply a (very loaded) whole that is more than the sum of its parts, although the implication obviously varies with your political orientation.
Sontaku is a fascinating word. The Vox Populi article about how its meaning has evolved from neutrality to a negative term is particularly interesting.
Also, I take rather serious issue with the Quartz "Worst Words" article, particularly the part about "light touch approach". It says: "This term is a handy way to justify to normally free-market Republicans the introduction of more regulation." I don't know if that's a joke, or if it's the author exposing some weird underlying politics of their own, but the term is almost unambiguously a euphemism for deregulation in favor of business interests. I'd say it's cut from the same cloth as such 1970s-era terms as "planned shrinkage", "municipal disinvestment" or even "benign neglect". I have never heard it being used to sell Republicans on more regulation.
posted by Kadin2048 at 8:00 AM on January 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
The choice of "fake news" seems defensible, if depressing. I'm not sure if I'd call 2017 The Year of Fake News over 2016, but I think it's possible that it'll be the year when that term slips firmly into the zeitgeist as a concept that goes beyond what the individual words mean; to say "fake news" today is to imply a (very loaded) whole that is more than the sum of its parts, although the implication obviously varies with your political orientation.
Sontaku is a fascinating word. The Vox Populi article about how its meaning has evolved from neutrality to a negative term is particularly interesting.
Also, I take rather serious issue with the Quartz "Worst Words" article, particularly the part about "light touch approach". It says: "This term is a handy way to justify to normally free-market Republicans the introduction of more regulation." I don't know if that's a joke, or if it's the author exposing some weird underlying politics of their own, but the term is almost unambiguously a euphemism for deregulation in favor of business interests. I'd say it's cut from the same cloth as such 1970s-era terms as "planned shrinkage", "municipal disinvestment" or even "benign neglect". I have never heard it being used to sell Republicans on more regulation.
posted by Kadin2048 at 8:00 AM on January 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
(Regenboogtaal was slightly edged out by "fipronilei," or an egg tainted in the fipronil scandal, which is a word whose utility is hopefully of limited duration.)
Surely compound nouns in Germanic languages shouldn't count, as they are literally as free as the air?
posted by acb at 9:19 AM on January 8, 2018
Surely compound nouns in Germanic languages shouldn't count, as they are literally as free as the air?
posted by acb at 9:19 AM on January 8, 2018
At one point over a decade ago Vaginal Davis used the phrase "Aryan youthquaker." "Youthquaker" pops up quite a bit in Vag's blog circa 1997 (google search.)
posted by larrybob at 2:15 PM on January 8, 2018
posted by larrybob at 2:15 PM on January 8, 2018
Isn't Youthquake a Vonnegut novel?
posted by adept256 at 5:05 PM on January 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by adept256 at 5:05 PM on January 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
All right. The Word for 2018 is "shithole".
posted by CCBC at 2:37 AM on January 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by CCBC at 2:37 AM on January 13, 2018 [2 favorites]
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