Oxford's 2007 Word Of The Year: Locavore?
Over the next two months, blogs will be clogged with announcements of some fairly dubious annual honors: the best and worst songs, celebrities, scandals, news stories, movies, school lunches, and recalled Chinese toys of 2007.
Exercises in silliness? Of course. Designed to stir up heated, meaningless debates? Definitely. Far too trivial for us to pay any attention to? Well, sure--that is, unless they have something to do with the English language.
So I feel compelled to pass along the news that last week Ben Zimmer, editor for American dictionaries at Oxford University Press, shamelessly announced that Oxford's 2007 Word of the Year is . . . locavore.
Right. I'd never heard of it before either.
According to Zimmer, locavore (sometimes appearing as localvore) refers to the practice of relying on fresh, locally grown food items uncontaminated by preservatives. “It’s significant," he says, "in that it brings together eating and ecology in a new way.”
Perhaps, but the only real way to measure the significance of locavore is to revisit our fair land in five or ten years to see if the word has, so to speak, taken root.
If you're curious (or maybe stranded in an airport waiting for a holiday flight), here are a few of the runners-up for Oxford's 2007 Word of the Year:
- aging in place: the process of growing older while living in one’s own residence, instead of having to move to a new home or community.
- cougar: an older woman who romantically pursues younger men.
- mumblecore: an independent film movement featuring low-budget production, non-professional actors, and largely improvised dialogue.
- social graph: the network of one’s friends and connections on social websites such as Facebook and Myspace.
- upcycling: the transformation of waste materials into something more useful or valuable.
Now I don't mean to sound cranky, but I'd welcome suggestions on how Oxford USA might upcycle its annual word award. Just click on "comments" below.
More Words About Words:
Comments
Interesting post! I need to visit your site more often.
Be as cranky as you like. May I join you?
Before I read the definition of “locavore” I guessed it probably referred to greedy real estate developers who bulldoze everything in sight. What’s wrong with saying “organic?” As to the locally-grown aspect, that’s a matter of opinion. How far would it have to be from your home to be non-local?
As to the runners up: EVERYONE is “aging in place.” None of us are getting any younger and if we move to a new place we’ll be aging in that place.
“Cougar” is obviously the equivalent of “foolish optimist.” Speaking as a single older woman, truth is all the good men of any age are either married, gay or dead.
“Mumblecore” will disappear once the writer’s strike is settled.
“Social graph” is merely the same as “cyber friends” or perhaps “online buddies.”
We already have recycle, freecycle, bicycle, tricycle, and unicycle et al. If we just throw out the waste materials will that be “downcycling?”