Let’s say goodbye to the last year of the noughties by taking our traditional excursion through some of the lexical developments of the past 12 months. How did the seasonal and topical highlights of 2009 influence the ever-changing English vocabulary?

January

If the festive season has meant that you’ve spent more time than is generally advisable with Mum, Dad, sisters, nephews, Auntie Flo and Grandad Jim, and frankly, at times they’ve driven you nuts, then in the New Year you’ll be glad to wave them all goodbye and get back to some quality time with your framily. Embracing the old adage that ‘you can choose your friends but not your family’, framily is a new social group underpinned by the principle that good friends are the family that we can pick for ourselves. A blend of friend and family, framily refers to people who are not related to you, but are your very close friends and are just as important to you as your family, or maybe even more so. The concept of framily is thought to have arisen largely because of the nature of 21st century society. In contrast to previous eras, people no longer routinely live close to other members of their family, and therefore need to create an alternative ‘support network’ – friends who they can rely on for company and help through life’s ups and downs.

‘Framily of friends give more support than family
People are increasingly relying on framilies, using their friends as a support network rather than their relatives, according to a new study.’ (The Telegraph, UK, 22nd September 2008)

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February

It’s Valentine’s Day this month, but fellas in search of romance should beware the growing number of freemales. Official figures released in early 2009 revealed that the number of single women had more than doubled over the last three decades. The term freemale – a playful blend of free and female – therefore hit the spotlight as a description of women who favour freedom over family. Freemales were said to be bucking the conventional trend of ‘marriage and kids before the age of 30’, as figures showed that one in five women would never have children, and that nearly a third were living alone by the time they reached retirement age. In the domain of those who prefer to forge relationships online, a new example of what linguists refer to as ‘conversion’ (where a word takes on a new part of speech) was gaining currency. The noun friend had now become a transitive verb in the world of social networking, meaning ‘to add someone to your friends list’. Even virtual friendships were not indestructible however, when hot on its heels the process of affixation kicked in to produce defriend (with lexical variant unfriend), meaning ‘to remove someone from your friends list’.

‘The number of single women has more than doubled over the past three decades, official figures showed yesterday. Many of these freemales have chosen an independent life over having a husband and family.’ (Daily Mail, 23rd January 2009)

‘As for Jon, the next request he sends will not only get an “ignore,” but a note explaining exactly why he’s been defriended.’ (Albany Times Union, 8th May 2009)

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March

On 5th March 2009, the Bank of England lowered official interest rates to just 0.5% – the lowest in the Bank’s 315 year history. It also announced its decision to release up to £150 billion of cash into an ailing banking system – and with it the expression quantitative easing entered the general consciousness. Quantitative easing refers to a procedure whereby a central bank creates new money from nothing, quite literally ‘out of thin air’, to feed into a struggling banking system, the idea being that with an injection of extra cash, banks will be able to start lending again and get money flowing around the economy. In 2009, quantitative easing was therefore viewed as a sort of antidote to the effects of the credit crunch. Such measures were designed to throw a lifeline to what were now being described as zombie banks, financial institutions that were still in business thanks to government support, but were not in a position to lend money because their liabilities were greater than their assets.

‘With interest rates now at 0.5%, the Bank of England can't make money much cheaper. All they can do now is make it more plentiful. . . . Printing money, quantitative easing or extraordinary measures – call it what you want but one thing is clear. The UK economy and the Bank of England have entered uncharted waters.’ (Financial Director, 8th March 2009)

‘There have already been many measures designed to improve bank liquidity and none has had the desired effect . . . In the mordant wit of the City, we have created zombie banks: they have been brought back from the dead but they are not functioning properly. It is essential they start to work again.’ (The Telegraph, 5th March 2009)

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April

Towards the end of this month, the director general of the World Health Organisation declared a ‘public health emergency of international concern’ when the first cases of the H1N1 virus were reported in the United States. Suddenly, people all over the world were bracing themselves at the prospect of catching swine flu, a respiratory illness with flu-like symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat, and aching muscles. Though a number of fatalities and the use of words like pandemic sent shockwaves across the globe, it transpired that the virus weakened as it travelled, with the majority of cases outside of its original source in Mexico resulting in milder symptoms that responded well to treatment with anti-viral drugs. As well as struggling to formulate an appropriate response to the flu threat, governments across the world were also debating how they should refer to the new virus. Officials in the US and parts of Europe wanted to drop swine, fearful of the damage it could cause to the farming industry and pork producers. And in Israel, health ministers protested about the term for religious reasons, since it contained the name of an animal banned by Jewish and Muslim dietary laws. Alternative terms, neither of which really took off, were Mexican flu, predictably somewhat unpopular amongst Mexican government officials, and the European Commission’s novel flu virus, an intrinsically ephemeral term since the virus could never be permanently ‘novel’. . .

‘The number of confirmed swine flu cases in the United States has doubled to 40, the World Health Organization announced Monday, saying it is "very concerned" about the disease's spread. The UN agency said it could decide within hours whether to raise its pandemic alert level. (Sacramento Bee, 27th April 2009)

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May

According to the Global Language Monitor, an association of academics that tracks the use of new words, the English language was to celebrate its one millionth word next month. Linguists (myself included) were sceptical about this claim, arguing that the decision about what counts as a new word is essentially a subjective one. But it was all good fun, especially because in the preceeding weeks, there was some interesting speculation about what this purported ‘millionth’ word might be. Among the surprise candidates was slumdog, a word referring to a poor, underprivileged slum dweller, popularised by the film Slumdog Millionnaire which had been a box office smash earlier in the year. The eventual and rather predictable ‘winner’ was Web 2.0 (pronounced ‘web two point oh’ or sometimes ‘web two zero’) a term describing the latest generation of web products and services. Seemingly so huge and important that it feels impossible to pin down with a single definition, the expression Web 2.0 represents the movement away from static web pages to dynamic, shareable content and the now hugely popular concept of social networking.

‘. . . Neha has filmed an appearance for the UTV Bindaas reality show The Big Switch, which sees rich kids having to cope with life in a Mumbai slum and slumdogs getting the chance to live the high life.’ (Bollyspice.com, 22nd October 2009)

‘The first version of the web was top down, talk only as it had no listen capability. In a sense it allowed for a very uninteresting monologue. Web 2.0 is about two way communication, it is about a dialogue.’ (The Financial Express, 10th November 2009)

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June

An obscure verb came out of the woodwork this month, as it was revealed that a number of UK politicians had been somewhat ‘creative’ when filling in expense claims. Trouser presses, ‘moat’ clearing, champagne flutes and horse manure – you name it, British MPs had claimed for it! In an attempt to regain the faith of the voting public, a decision was taken to publish the claims online, but despite Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s call for ‘maximum transparency’, those that were published had many key details, including names and addresses, mysteriously ‘blacked out’. In a backlash of sceptical coverage by the media, the word redact, a formal verb meaning simply ‘to edit’, suddenly hit the spotlight as a euphemism for ‘cover-up’, as it transpired that any information which could be sensitive or damaging to the MPs concerned had been redacted. Within the same controversy, the verb flip gained a new context-specific sense when it was revealed that a common ruse employed by many MPs was flipping – the practice of switching their ‘second’ home from London to the home located in their constituency, and sometimes back again, to help them do renovations or buy household goods for both properties.

‘The next set of redacted data, beyond that held by this newspaper, will restore the complete obfuscation of greed, graft, flipping and CGT fraud which was endemic.’ (Comments, The Telegraph, 23rd June 2009)

‘Members of Parliament should no longer be able to claim mortgage interest payments and be stopped from the controversial practice of flipping designated second homes, the Kelly report has recommended.’ (Yorkshire Post, 5th November 2009)

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July

Those chaps wanting to attract attention whilst enjoying this year’s summer sun might have considered purchasing a mankini. Formed from a blend of man and bikini, mankini refers to a thong-like male swimming costume with straps over the shoulders, famously worn by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen when playing the character Borat in the 2006 film of the same name. Whilst possibly not to everyone’s taste, this outlandish piece of male swimwear has been replicated in numerous guises by retailers, and ‘splashed’ its way into the printed record in September 2009 when it was announced as a new addition to the Collins English Dictionary. For the ladies, the unseasonably wet and cool weather in the UK this month contributed to the growing popularity of jeggings. As the word suggests, jeggings are a cross between jeans and leggings, tight-fitting trousers made of stretchy material that have the colour and feel of denim jeans.

‘Lexicographers prefer a mankini
. . . While Borat's lime-green mankini may have been a tad distasteful, by donning it in the film of the same name, comedian Sacha Baron Cohen ensured the swimsuit a place in the dictionary.’ (BBC News, 1st September 2009)

‘Jeggings: Leggings plus jeans make the summer's weirdest trend . . . Jeggings are a lightweight, practical solution to goosepimple legs and are brilliant replacement denims for a typically damp British summer.’ (London Evening Standard, 30th July 2009)

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August

If lazing on a beach was not your thing this holiday season, there were a number of new leisure pursuits you might have liked to try your hand at. For those who enjoy taking to the waves, stand-up paddleboarding was a new variation on canoeing and surfing. Standing on a specially adapted board which looks a bit like a surfboard, you use a canoe-style paddle to propel yourself along in the water. On the other hand you might have fancied a bit of wild swimming, immersing yourself in rural lakes or rivers rather than chlorine-filled swimming pools. Those in search of a serious adrenalin rush might have considered the activity of air sphering where, secured inside an eight-foot inflatable ball, participants are catapulted about in a vertical wind tunnel at speeds of up to 150mph. But if all these options left you cold and you prefered to sit in a comfy seat and exercise mind rather than body, maybe you grabbed one of the world’s most famous puzzles and tried your hand at speed cubing – your challenge was to solve the Rubik’s Cube as quickly as possible.

‘. . . a new sport known as stand-up paddleboarding (or SUP to those who really want to master the lingo). . . Locals, hardcore surfers and curious holidaymakers are becoming increasingly accustomed to the sight of the tall, graceful figures slipping silently through the waves on their paddleboards.’ (The Telegraph, UK, 3rd August 2009)

‘If the thought of autumnal wild swimming sends a shiver down your spine, Italy's natural hot pools offer a much less punishing alternative.’ (The Guardian, 17th October 2009)

‘On your air sphereing experience, the technicians will be on hand to make sure you're stabilised in the airsphere. Once airborne, you'll be spinning around a fair few metres above the ground – a bit like a ball in the national lottery machine.’ (intotheblue.co.uk, 2009)

‘Luke will have to break the sub-10 second barrier to win New Zealand's first ever speed cubing champs at Te Papa this weekend.’ (3 News, New Zealand, 15th July 2009)

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September

In early September a study revealed that nearly 20% of people in the UK who had been made redundant during the economic downturn had headed off on an extended holiday. It seemed that, instead of wallowing in the misery of the recession, they had used their redundancy payouts to fund an escape to foreign parts. Online tour agency e-bookers.com described this new travel trend as the res-scape, (a blend of recession and escape), with recession-weary travellers correspondingly dubbed res-scapers. A study polling more than 4000 adults revealed that the average res-scaper was spending around £2700 on a ‘dream’ holiday. Whether this trend would linger beyond the last dregs of redundancy money was questionable, but the concept formed a stark contrast to 2008’s staycation, a stay-at-home holiday for people on a tight budget. With a continuing weak economy and an increase in fuel prices, staycationers were also on the rise, and the term itself gained currency during 2009 – particularly in British English, even though Brits conventionally take holidays rather than vacations. This might have had something to do with the fact that the Met Office had predicted that Britain would enjoy a ‘barbecue summer’ (though, true to form, the UK summer weather was pretty erratic). In July 2009, staycation made it into printed record when it was added to Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary .

‘. . . the recession escaper, also known as the Res-caper, following research which reveals that almost one in five Britons (19%) made redundant in the credit crunch are heading off on an extended holiday to get away from the recession and over a quarter (26%), are using their redundancy package to fund their Res-cape.’ (Travel Daily News, 2nd September 2009)

‘WALES’ seven national museums have just enjoyed their busiest September on record with heritage bosses suggesting staycationers seeking to beat the recession have caused the surge in popularity.’ (WalesOnline, 22nd October 2009)

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October

It was announced this month that Atlanta, one of the largest cities in the US, was to become the world’s most digitally-mapped city. Whilst this may not be the most exciting of claims to fame, the linguistic by-product was a new word mapathon, a combination of map and marathon used to describe a large-scale community event where cartographic information is collected by a bank of volunteers. Armed with global positioning devices, around 200 participants mapped the city during the weekend of 17th and 18th October, starting with motorways and major roads and eventually moving right down to footpaths, bars and restaurants. The resulting information would subsequently be freely available, maintained by web-based platform OpenStreetMap to form a kind of wiki map. Other new words this year reflect this newly-discovered potential for collaborative information-gathering, especially as facilitated by the web. Among them was crowdsourcing – trying to complete tasks or find solutions to problems by using the Internet to ask a wide range of people or organisations – and friendsourcing – gathering information from a trusted group of online pals.

‘Atlanta Gets Digitally Mapped During ‘Mapathon’
Dozens of people hit the streets of Atlanta this weekend armed with GPS devices, to make the city the most digitally mapped in the country. The online map is free . . . for the people by the people.’ (GPB News, 18th October 2009)

‘Jeff Howe has promoted the term crowdsourcing, which emphasizes the potential of internet communities in developing knowledge. Friendsourcing in some way can be seen as opposition to crowdsourcing. Friendsourcing is based on the potential of relatively small networks of friends. . . There is no wisdom of the crowd, but wisdom of a carefully collected network of people. . . ’ (Historia i Media, 30th September 2009)

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November

US President Barack Obama had plans to make his first visit to China this month, and in a flurry of speculation about the economic and political outcomes, the word Chimerica hit the headlines. A tongue-in-cheek blend of China and America, the term Chimerica refers to the economic relationship between the two countries, in particular China’s supply of credit to the US, and the US’ purchase of cheap Chinese goods. Economists argue that Chimerica played a significant role in 2008’s global financial crisis. China had accumulated large currency reserves which, channelled into US government securities, kept interest rates low. This cocktail of cheap credit, cheap goods and western consumerism fuelled a sustained period of overspending, culminating in economic collapse. On a lighter note, on this side of the Atlantic, proper nouns were also being fused together to create Jedward, a combination of the names John and Edward referring to a pair of contestants on the highly popular talent show The X-factor. John and Edward Grimes, 18-year-old twins from Dublin, found fame by ‘surviving’ a number of weeks on the show. Associated hype and controversy splashed the word Jedward across the media. This now popular trend for fusing two names together, particularly the names of two people in a romantic relationship, is sometimes referred to as meshing. Other contemporary examples include Brangelina, (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) and TomKat (Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes).

‘The economic crisis has underlined the interdependence of ‘Chimerica’ in particular and the trade imbalance that has left China with vast US dollar holdings.’ (The Observer, 15th November 2009)

‘Jedward sensationally survived the X Factor axe again last night and are on course to scoop the £1million record deal. John and Edward defied the odds to make it through to the next round after their army of fans voted in force for them.’ (Daily Star, 16th November 2009)

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December

It’s the last month of the noughties and we couldn’t romp through a lexical résumé of the year without some reference to our growing environmental conscience. So, as you were preparing the brussel sprouts, stirring the plum pudding, and slow roasting a gigantic hunk of meat for the festive table, did you take time to consider your cookprint? Inspired by the word footprint in its ecological sense, cookprint is used to refer to a measure of the environmental impact of preparing meals. And it’s not just about the ‘cooking’ itself – your cookprint encompasses the whole range of resources you use, from where the food is sourced and its packaging, through to storage, preparation, heating and discarding waste or leftovers. On the other hand, those of us who, ecologically-speaking, stick our heads in the sand during the festive season and preferred to indulge our culinary desires perhaps found a new source of inspiration in the concept of molecular gastronomy. How about a starter of white-chocolate coated molluscs or, to round off a delicious meal, coffee and petit-fours infused with tobacco? These are among the crazy food combinations which have been tried by molecular gastronomists, chefs who use scientific techniques, in particular an in-depth analysis of the senses (smell, taste, etc) and the brain’s perception of flavour, to produce ‘innovative’ culinary creations.

‘The cookprint starts with food, in your garden or at the farm; it travels to your kitchen and continues in your fridge, freezer or pantry. The cookprint grows larger every time heat or fuel is added, from a cooktop, oven, or small appliance. Discarded waste, whether it’s organic produce trimmings, plastic packaging, or water down the drain, further colors the cookprint.’ (New Green Basics, 26th February 2008)

‘. . . he now prides himself on blending traditional Spanish food with molecular gastronomy... ''This is the pulpo pop,'' he says. ''Pulpo is Spanish for octopus. Served with potatoes, it is the most important dish from Galicia.'' Melonas' version takes the flavours of pulpo a la gallego and, using various food-science techniques, he has moulded the dish into the shape of another Spanish treat – the Chupa Chup.’ (The Age, 3rd November 2009)

Here’s to a happy and lexically-productive 2010!

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For more information about new and topical words and phrases, read Kerry's Word of the Week articles on the MED Resource Site.