Word-of-the-Year/Decade Nominations Open

[Grant Barrett]

Colleagues, the word of the year season is upon us. Here's the announcement
about the American Dialect Society's vote, our 20th!

Thanks,

Grant Barrett
Vice President of Communications and Technology
American Dialect Society
http://www.americandialect.org
gbarrett at worldnewyork.org

...

The American Dialect Society is now accepting nominations for the "word of
the year" of 2009 and the "word of the decade" for 2000-2009

What is the word or phrase which best characterizes the year 2009 or the
past decade? What expression most reflects the ideas, events, and themes
which have occupied the English-speaking world, especially North America?

Nominations should be sent to woty at americandialect.org.

They will be considered for the American Dialect Society's 20th annual
word-of-the-year vote, the longest-running vote of its kind in the world and
the word-of-the-year event up to which all others lead. It will be held in
Baltimore on Friday, January 8, 2010. 

The best "word of the year" candidates will be:

--new or newly popular in 2009
--widely or prominently used in 2009
--indicative or reflective of the popular discourse

The best "word of the decade" candidates will be:

--especially prominent or important throughout the years 2000-2009
--indicative of trends, fads, upheavals, groundswells, or sea changes which
affected history, culture, or society throughout the years 2000-2009.

Multi-word compounds or phrases that act as stand-alone lexical items are
welcomed, as well.

Sub-categories for "word of the year" include most useful, most creative,
most unnecessary, most outrageous, most euphemistic, most likely to succeed,
and least likely to succeed.

The vote is informed by the members’ expertise in the study of language, but
it is far from a solemn occasion. Members in the 120-year-old academic
organization include linguists, lexicographers, etymologists, grammarians,
historians, researchers, writers, authors, editors, professors, university
students, and independent scholars. In conducting the vote, they act in fun
and do not pretend to be officially inducting words into the English
language. Instead, they are highlighting that language change is normal,
ongoing, and entertaining.

Past winners can be found on the society's web site:

http://www.americandialect.org/woty/

More information about the annual meeting:

http://americandialect.org/baltimore2010

Best wishes,

Grant Barrett
Vice President of Communications and Technology
American Dialect Society
http://www.americandialect.org
administrator at americandialect.org
(646) 286-2260 (US)
020 8133 1997 (UK)

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