Kerstin Cable [00:00:00]:
Hello. Hello, fluent show listeners. It's Kerstin here, your podcast hostess with the mostest. And I just wanted to send you a little love note before we kick off this year's words of the year episode to say how much your continued support, your listening, You recommending the Fluent Show to your friends has meant to me. It does show up, and I can see it. And I'm thrilled to see that our community is going stronger than ever. Now if you're not subscribed to my newsletter yet, I just wanted to also ask you to come and join the newsletter crew because I've got so much planned. I've got live events coming up.

Kerstin Cable [00:00:38]:
We're regularly publishing new blog articles over on the fluent language blog. And I've got weekly language learning tips to make your life a bit easier. You can do all that at fluentlanguage.co.uk /newsletter. Takes you 30 seconds to sign up, and you will be hearing from me in your inbox. Can't wait for us to connect over there. But now let's talk words of the year. Welcome to the Fluent Show in 2024. What? We're still a podcast about learning languages and reaching your potential.

Kerstin Cable [00:01:22]:
Hello. Hello. My name is Kerstin Cable From www.fluentlanguage.co.uk. And together with say hi. Hi. Hi. Together with Lindsay from lindsaydoeslanguages.com, we are here on the show to talk about languages, communication, curiosity, And let's just face it, words of the year. Words of the year.

Kerstin Cable [00:01:44]:
Of course, we're doing words of the year. We did it last year. We're gonna do it this year. Don't be silly. The podcast is running on for this is now just a words of the podcast. Lindsay, you on board with that?

Lindsay Williams [00:01:56]:
I think I can be on board with that.

Kerstin Cable [00:01:57]:
Excellent. Well, I'm glad because you're here now. We're doing it. Ah, just so I thought, we'll have a little we'll have a little catch up. Have a little we're both professionals. So we don't exactly have a cup of tea or coffee in front of us. We've got a water, so we're gonna catch up over a little water.

Lindsay Williams [00:02:15]:
Actually very me. Like, I don't drink alcohol. I don't drink coffee. Some people are like, oh, do you wanna go for a coffee? Or, oh, do you

Kerstin Cable [00:02:20]:
wanna go for a drink?

Lindsay Williams [00:02:21]:
I'm like, do they have mint tea?

Kerstin Cable [00:02:25]:
Fair enough.

Lindsay Williams [00:02:26]:
Like so yeah.

Kerstin Cable [00:02:28]:
But you are neither uninspiring nor straight edge. You're you're a bit straight edge, actually.

Lindsay Williams [00:02:34]:
I would say so if that's a positive.

Kerstin Cable [00:02:37]:
Yeah. Yeah. But not very punk because it comes out of punk scene, doesn't it?

Lindsay Williams [00:02:41]:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Kerstin Cable [00:02:43]:
Okay. So for those of you who, I don't know, don't know what straightedge means, it's generally when you don't really indulge in your vices very much, I would say. Right? It's quite a disciplined approach to life. You don't drink. You don't mess with yourself.

Lindsay Williams [00:03:00]:
Yeah. And I think, like, in the sort of punk term, it's kind of because There is this expectation. Right? That, like, oh, you have a big pink mohawk. That means that you must love getting drunk and getting high. So I think it kind of comes out of rebelling against that, but still being like, well, I can still have pink hair.

Kerstin Cable [00:03:23]:
Oh my god. It's rebelling against being a rebel. What could be more punk? What could be more punk?

Lindsay Williams [00:03:28]:
The the ultimate. Yeah.

Kerstin Cable [00:03:31]:
Are you learning any punk languages? Are you going are you what are you up to with languages?

Lindsay Williams [00:03:36]:
What's a punk language, do you reckon?

Kerstin Cable [00:03:38]:
What is a punk language? Well, either it's something mainstream as heck, so you're like a rebel because you're learning French.

Lindsay Williams [00:03:47]:
And you're just like, yeah, and what?

Kerstin Cable [00:03:49]:
And what? Yeah. That's how I feel about my Welsh. Maybe I'm punk in my because I'm in my 9th year of Welsh learning this year.

Lindsay Williams [00:03:57]:
Yeah. That's a long time.

Kerstin Cable [00:03:58]:
I know. But there's still a lot to do. Not a lot to do. I'm not exactly fast. So I don't consider myself very punk. I'm more sort of bumbling along, but I'm still loving it. My classes have just started again for the year. And I guess, If anything, my long term goal is to either move to Wales or move a little closer to Wales because it does really Strike me that it's it's quite far to travel to to hear my language in its natural habitat or where it's spoken.

Kerstin Cable [00:04:27]:
And Considering I live in the same country, yeah, maybe that's something to consider for Welsh. But, yeah, still on it. Still on it. Still dysgu Cymraeg once again. So tell me about yours.

Lindsay Williams [00:04:42]:
So mine is, right now, Quite a little mixture. I last year was also a mixture. So at the very beginning of the year of 2023 now. So it's that weird moment when you have to remember what number last year was in January. Yeah. In 2023 of of January, I was in the final weeks, not even month, but The final weeks of my MA dissertation. Right? But at the same time, it was like new year. What do I wanna do? What language do I wanna do? And all of this.

Lindsay Williams [00:05:22]:
And I knew that I wanted to run an international marathon. When I was looking around for ones that were happening later in the year, there was, like, Egypt. There was Jordan, and I'm like, okay. Maybe I should learn some Arabic. These are looking likely. As it turns out, I picked Think it was, like, June or July when I had to book on, and I opted for, Istanbul.

Lindsay Williams [00:05:49]:
So then it was like, okay. Just put that Arabic on ice, and let's learn some Turkish. But then all along, At the same time in the background, I still wanted to keep Russian and, you know, just, like, dabble in here and there as as I do. But this year, because last year, even though there was a couple of languages happening, it was kind of light because of, like, Coming out of two and a half years of that MA stuff and,you know, the very end being, like, solid dissertation is, like, quite intense. So I was like, okay. I don't have any big goals or anything serious. And so coming into this year, it was like, okay. I wanna do some Reviving of of what has been, and also thinking forward to the rest of this year and kind of beyond as well. And, like, I'm gonna be traveling a little bit. So from sort of the summer, kind of June time, I'm planning to go traveling for, like, a year, let's say. And

Kerstin Cable [00:06:53]:
thinking about bit.

Lindsay Williams [00:06:55]:
Yeah. Thinking about, like, which places I wanna go and therefore which languages I might wanna learn and start introducing now Into that regular routine. So right now, it's very mixed. It's very multiple languages. There's a lot Happening. But I feel on top of it all, which is really exciting. Like Mhmm. I think I've finally found a way of Bringing that quantity of languages in at different levels and different, goals and all of that Yeah.

Lindsay Williams [00:07:27]:
Whilst still Moving forward positively without feeling like you're sacrificing one for the other.

Kerstin Cable [00:07:33]:
That is a challenge. I know that that's most certainly a challenge. Like, when I did, Multilingual Power Up. You know, the the course I made about languages, multiple language learning.I was very I was, like, mapping it out for people to say, you know, like, you you it it's all in the balance. And a lot of it is about how do you actually, adjust your attitude to each language so that you know where you're pushing and where you're not pushing, etcetera. That's Yeah. So it's it's that balance that's really amazing.

Kerstin Cable [00:08:06]:
And do you feel like you're quite comfortable and feel quite secure when you are putting 1 down? Do you, like, consciously do yeah. Do you, like, consciously say, okay. Do you know what, Arabic? This is it for now. I'm not gonna, you know, book any more classes. I'm not gonna open this book anymore, etcetera. Or are you like, oh, just do a little bit?

Lindsay Williams [00:08:28]:
Yeah. No. I do. Because there there are sometimes where that's necessary. And, like, For me, I know that if I'm, as you say, sort of putting 1 down, it's like it's not going in the bin. It's just going on the table or on the shelf. Mhmm. You know? Like, sort of metaphorically speaking.

Lindsay Williams [00:08:48]:
So I don't ever feel like just because something isn't In rotation right now, but that means that's it and it's over, and I feel guilty for not doing it. It's like the amount of languages that I've Sort of even learned a few words in over the years and thought, oh, I wanna go further. Like, it just would be far too much to realistically progress in at the same time. But right now, the point that I'm at is just making this gentle progress probably for a couple of months until My travel plans feel a little more solid, and then I can know for sure, like, yeah. Okay. We're gonna deep dive into this one and that one and that one. You know? Mhmm. Yeah.

Lindsay Williams [00:09:29]:
So just using that that point where there's no one big focus language To have some space to play and experiment with routines for multiple languages.

Kerstin Cable [00:09:42]:
Do you have, New Year's resolutions. I'm curious about that before I move on.

Lindsay Williams [00:09:49]:
No. I don't do New Year's resolutions, because I feel like if I wanted to Kind of essentially eliminate, give up, replace, or add something. I would just do it regard Unless of it being January 1st or not. Mhmm. But what I do do is I I like the idea of still using New Year as A time, first of all, for kind of reflection and then for looking forward. Right? So as this sort of not a full, like, reset, new you, new me type of moment, but just as a chance to set some new goals and think about that stuff. So I have, like, a 24 in 24 list. I like the idea of that one word theme as well, and just kind of playing around with those ideas.

Kerstin Cable [00:10:36]:
Oh, you do Gretchen Rubin's style of

Lindsay Williams [00:10:40]:
I suppose. Yeah. A little bit. Yeah.

Kerstin Cable [00:10:41]:
Yeah. Yeah. Do you know what? Me me too. I've got 24 in 24 list. And I've never done it before, and I've wanted to do it for years. I'm so excited.

Lindsay Williams [00:10:48]:
I have done it for you. I've done it since, like, 2017, I think. Maybe 16 even. 2016, I think. And, yeah, it's it's just a nice thing. Because some of them like, obviously, now,24, that's a lot. Right? So some of them are so simple.

And, like, you could do it in an hour When you just sat on a Sunday, like, what do I do? Oh, I can do that thing that's on the list. And some of them are, like, bigger and, like, lasting the whole year or whatever. So it's quite Fun. Because there's always something to keep you busy and something to be doing and discovering something new.

Kerstin Cable [00:11:23]:
Yeah. So listeners, I'll link you to the 24 for 24 lists. And I have a one word theme, although I'm not entirely sure how it's gonna, inform my whole year or whatever, but it is an intention. I'll give you my word for the year. I'm not gonna give you my whole 24 for 24 list. That's a different podcast. Oh my god. But my word for the year is ride.

Lindsay Williams [00:11:44]:
Right.

Kerstin Cable [00:11:45]:
It was Drive. Right? Yeah. But my my friend said, no. I want you know, you should have some ease, etcetera. And we had, like, a lot of conversations reflecting on the year. And last year, I kinda stressed myself out a little bit in many ways. So ride is more easeful. And it's it's also I've got my eye on this bicycle ride from Berlin to Copenhagen.

Kerstin Cable [00:12:03]:
I'm really it looks so good. 2 years ago, I rode along the Moselle in Germany, and that was just amazing and, more than I thought I was capable of. Then last You and I, you came down to to Kent, where I live, and, we did another long term goal. I mean, we did a triathlon together, which is,

Lindsay Williams [00:12:25]:
Oh my gosh. It was crazy.

Kerstin Cable [00:12:26]:
It was it was just I can't believe I did it, you know? And then this year, I'm like, oh, yeah. Okay. We'll do that. That wasn't so hard. And it wasn't Crazy hard, but it's just in your head, a long term goal is a big deal. Right? And like you said, the international marathon is such a big deal. So I really wanted to give a big hooray for both of us for our long term goals.

Lindsay Williams [00:12:48]:
Yeah. I appreciate that. And and just well done as well, again, on the triathlon. It was such a great day. I was really honored To to to be, you know, to be there and to be a part of it. Like Oh my it was so cool to see you finish.

Kerstin Cable [00:13:03]:
Thank you very much for pulling me through. Yeah. Lots and lots of fun. So I wanted to just take a second, like I said, to celebrate long term goals. They just this sort of I feel like There's something about language learning that is so similar where it's just like, we've got a big wish, you know, and it's all about wishes coming true. And The moment of Do My Triathlon was certainly it was like a wish coming true, and a lot of hard work paying off and all that. And listeners, this is my invitation to for you to tell us what your long term goals are. So you know where to find us, k e r s t I n_ fluent on Instagram, or you can find The Fluent Show on Facebook.

I've been doing a bit more with the page. We're on Twitter, The Fluent Show. It doesn't really matter. You know where to find us. Yeah. Tell us what your long term goals are. I would love to know. It doesn't have to be a language goal.

Lindsay Williams [00:13:55]:
Yeah. Definitely.

Kerstin Cable [00:13:57]:
Okay. Shall we? Are you ready? Would you like to join me in the words lounge, and do what we came to do. Shall we do what we came to do, which is to crown discuss well, we're not crowning them. We are just discussing them, finding them. I have found so many words of the year. One of my favorite things to do all year long.

Lindsay Williams [00:14:22]:
Yeah. I'm excited because I haven't see I mean, I've seen the ones that were, like, you know, got press. Mhmm. Like but I haven't seen masses, So I've tried to keep away from from it all.

Kerstin Cable [00:14:34]:
Okay. That's good. That's good. I hope I hope I'm bringing you some new ones. I have got words of the year from the UK, Australia, and the USA. I've got Germany. They're always going strong with this. I've got Japan with the kanji of the year, a Spanish word of the year, and a Norwegian one.

Kerstin Cable [00:14:52]:
Where would you like me to start?

Lindsay Williams [00:14:54]:
Let's start with the English. Let's get them out of the way.

Kerstin Cable [00:14:58]:
Okay. Plenty plenty to go. Okay. I'll start us off in the UK then. The UK, where there are several dictionary companies that get involved in this. And I want to just commend listeners if you go to fluent.show/243, this is gonna be.You will be getting links to all of the websites for this, and really just commend really beautiful word of the year pages all around in the UK this year. So Oxford English Dictionary, Cambridge and Collins all have done they've outdone themselves their gorgeous, gorgeous pages. Gonna kick us off with Oxford. Is it the OED? Is it not? Write in. Let me know. I don't even know. Their word of the year, I don't know either.

Kerstin Cable [00:15:44]:
I'd never heard it. The word of the year, Lindsay, is Riz. You got any Riz?

Lindsay Williams [00:15:50]:
This is the Riz one.

Kerstin Cable [00:15:52]:
This is the Riz one.

Lindsay Williams [00:15:53]:
I think I think this is the one I've seen. Is this the one that was, like, public vote?

Kerstin Cable [00:15:57]:
It was. Yeah.

Lindsay Williams [00:15:58]:
Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I saw I saw this, and I remember thinking, Like, it's one of those words that feels weird for me to say. Like, I feel like I sound like, you know, like, that meme with the guy with the skateboard and the hat, like, hello, fellow kids. I go like that. If I try and say Riz, Like, lit. It's the same kind of vibe of but, yeah, it means, like, charisma.

Lindsay Williams [00:16:25]:
Right?

Kerstin Cable [00:16:26]:
It is. So Yeah. I've a little bit more later about that where is it short for Charisma? Is it not for charis short for Charisma? It originates from some TikTok guy. Like I said, I've got more about that later. So the way that Oxford talks about it is it's pertaining to someone's ability to attract another person through style, charm, or attractiveness. This term is from the middle part of the word charisma, again disputed, which is an unusual word formation pattern. Other examples include fridge for refrigerator, so refrigerator, I guess, and flu for influenza.

Lindsay Williams [00:17:04]:
Mhmm. Okay. Yeah.

Kerstin Cable [00:17:06]:
You don't say, uh-uh, I feel really bad. I've got the influ. I've got the influ. Yeah.

Lindsay Williams [00:17:11]:
But you know what? I do do a lot, and I do say a lot, is the first bit, and I drop the last bit. So I make some An abbreviation.

Kerstin Cable [00:17:20]:
Ah, but then you have to you haven't dropped the first bit, so you'd be making a a brevy. Exactly.

Lindsay Williams [00:17:25]:
That's what I'm saying. So I met so I I do I do do like, I would say, refridge. Mhmm. Obviously, I wouldn't say refridge, but, like, you know what I mean? I do do that where I just take a random word and Go from the very beginning and stop kind of before the last bit. But then, yeah, that is weird. I haven't thought about that to take it from the middle. I guess, charis It's quite hard to say because it's not a it's not like a smooth sound. It's It's kind of abrupt.

Lindsay Williams [00:17:55]:
Maybe that's why it got knocked off and we ended up with just Riz

Kerstin Cable [00:17:59]:
Yeah.

Lindsay Williams [00:17:59]:
If that's the origin, like you So

Kerstin Cable [00:18:01]:
It's strange. Like, I also wouldn't use Riz. It it's maybe a little bit more street than than would be natural for, like or, like, maybe it's a little bit more it's just not original to my vocabulary yet. It might become so common. I just say charm, Really? I'd probably just say charm. But this is a mixture of style, charm, and attractiveness. Don't know. I don't say Riz.

Kerstin Cable [00:18:30]:
So listeners, again, if if if any of you said Riz before before everybody put Riz as word of the year, let me know for sure because I can't really it's not in my natural vocabulary, and neither is the verb version of it because there's a verb. What? Which is if you're rizzing someone up, it means to attract, seduce, or chat up. You imagine, like, a pickup artist is now a Rizz up artist?

Lindsay Williams [00:18:58]:
Yeah. I didn't know there was a verb. Okay.

Kerstin Cable [00:19:00]:
Yeah. Yeah. Well, ask your favorite bros and see if they've been rizzing people up recently.

Lindsay Williams [00:19:05]:
Right.

Kerstin Cable [00:19:07]:
There were some hot contain content containers hot contenders. So I'm just gonna briefly run you through the list before we move on to the Cambridge, and they were prompt. Not as in quick, but as in AI related?

Lindsay Williams [00:19:24]:
Yeah. It which is interesting because I talk a lot about language prompts. So when I when I remember seeing the full list of this one, and I was like, oh. Oh. Yeah. Yeah. It makes sense. Of course, there's an AI one.

Kerstin Cable [00:19:36]:
New usage of the word prompt, or, like, to, you know, to specifically mean that. And then also the the term prompt engineer, we're gonna see popping up a few times, I think, which is People say that's a new job, and that's somebody who I guess I do a lot of that with Josh in AI Language Club, so I know it's quite necessary. It's like, how do I phrase this so that the thing actually gives me what I want. Mhmm. Mhmm. You know, like, what are the extra bits that I need to tell ChatGpT so that it doesn't go off and do something that I don't want it to do, and that's the prompt engineering. Yeah. An entirely new term.

Entirely like, A year ago, we wouldn't have talked about this. It's crazy, isn't it? It is. Yeah. Next one, situationship.

Lindsay Williams [00:20:23]:
Yeah. Okay.

Kerstin Cable [00:20:24]:
Don't know what gave that rise in 2023.

Lindsay Williams [00:20:27]:
It's in a Taylor Swift song.

Kerstin Cable [00:20:30]:
Well, the next hot contender

Lindsay Williams [00:20:32]:
the next one. Yeah.

Kerstin Cable [00:20:33]:
Yeah. Swiftie.

Lindsay Williams [00:20:35]:
Yeah. Which I thought was gonna win.

Kerstin Cable [00:20:38]:
Really? Oh, you are a Swiftie. Right?

Lindsay Williams [00:20:41]:
No. I don't I wouldn't. And you know me, I don't like kind of to labor like that. But I wouldn't say so, but I I do respect, Taylor Swift musically and Oh. Businessly.

Kerstin Cable [00:20:54]:
Interesting. Businessly. Yeah. I'm I don't know. Am I a Swiftie? I have a lot a lot of.. not just respect. I really enjoy Taylor Swift's music.

Lindsay Williams [00:21:05]:
I feel the reason I hold myself back from saying, yes, I am a Swiftie or I am a insert Fan word here is I feel like that's like the mega maybe this is like polyglot. Right? I feel like if I say that, someone's gonna expect me to know her birthday Or her first cat's name? I don't know.

Do you know what I mean? Yeah. It feels like you are declaring The ultimate.

Kerstin Cable [00:21:28]:
Oh, I see.

Lindsay Williams [00:21:29]:
That's what it feels like to me. So that's why I feel like, yeah, I admire what you do, and I like your music. But To say I am a Swiftie feels like, that feels extreme. And maybe that's why it didn't win because there are maybe people like me or like Christian. Like, I bet if you asked Christian, he wouldn't say I am a Swiftie. Or if you said, Christian, you're a Swiftie, he'd probably have a similar response to me. He'd be like, no. No.

Lindsay Williams [00:21:53]:
You know? That would be my guess.

Kerstin Cable [00:21:55]:
Mhmm.

Lindsay Williams [00:21:56]:
I think there's people that wouldn't claim that label for themselves.

Kerstin Cable [00:22:00]:
To me, Swiftie is also like, you'd have to there's there's a huge body of work to Taylor Swift. This is the Taylor Swift podcast now. The and you it it implies that you would know the whole body of work. I'm more of a That's

Lindsay Williams [00:22:15]:
what I mean. Yeah.

Kerstin Cable [00:22:16]:
Like, I came to Taylor Swift. I appreciate the 1989 pop thing, but I know, like, 3 songs. And then I really loved, like, the stuff that she did with the guy from The National because, really, I love The National. You know? So Yeah. I would not be a Swiftie because I'm just not I'm like a I guess I'm I'm in one of the eras. Fair weather.

Lindsay Williams [00:22:34]:
A fair weather Swifty.

Kerstin Cable [00:22:35]:
I'm a one era Swifty.

Lindsay Williams [00:22:37]:
Yeah. But you're not. You see, you're you're technically

Kerstin Cable [00:22:40]:
Double tier.

Lindsay Williams [00:22:40]:
Two and a half era swiftly, because you got Folklore, you got Evermore, and you've got some midnights 3 AM tracks.

Kerstin Cable [00:22:46]:
It's true.. It's true. And Shake It Off, which I just adore no matter what.

Lindsay Williams [00:22:51]:
I was gonna say, did Aaron Dessner get... Oh my god. On the Taylor's version of Shake Oh, I did not hear that.

Kerstin Cable [00:22:58]:
So the Swiftie and so maybe situationship came from there. Right. I'll run you through Four more from the short shortlist, just words I liked. And I guess you okay. Score them for me from a scale on a scale from 1 to 5. 5 being this this should have been word of the year. This is awesome. And 1 being, why are we even meant why why are we saying this? What's the point? Okay.

Kerstin Cable [00:23:19]:
The first one is beige flag. 

Lindsay Williams [00:23:25]:
Meh. A 3?

What does that mean? No. Like a 1 or a 2.

Kerstin Cable [00:23:28]:
Okay. Beige flag meaning if somebody if you it's a sign if you're dating someone. Like, you know how there's red flags, and red flags mean That person's probably not a good choice for you to get together with. If they have a beige flag, it's a sign that they're probably a bit boring. So people will be online and say my beige flag is, I clean the dishwasher every Saturday or whatever. I don't know. The second one, de influencing.

Lindsay Williams [00:24:00]:
Again, kind of down like 1. Mhmm. Because I feel like it's kind of The irony is that you're still influencing. Do you know what I mean? Mhmm. When you're attempting to deinfluence, you're still

Kerstin Cable [00:24:15]:
Yeah.

Lindsay Williams [00:24:15]:
Like, potentially having an influence. So it's like, well, what are you really doing?

Kerstin Cable [00:24:20]:
Do you actually know what did you know what the influencing means meant before word of the year? Yeah. Or explain it for our listeners then. Well, hopefully, I've understood it right.

Lindsay Williams [00:24:30]:
So, like, for example, if you've got an influencer that's promoting, let's say, boohoo.com, That's name and shame.

Kerstin Cable [00:24:37]:
Mhmm.

Lindsay Williams [00:24:38]:
And it's like fast fashion and it's terrible, or Shein. Let's really go the whole hog. And then a de influencer, someone de influencing, would be talking about Shein, But about how bad they are and maybe suggesting alternative ways to buy your clothes, would that be a good summary?

Kerstin Cable [00:24:59]:
Yeah. The way I understood it is if you tell if you tell people to stay away from stuff.

Lindsay Williams [00:25:04]:
Yeah.

Kerstin Cable [00:25:04]:
More or less. But, yeah, like you say, you're still acting. You're still Ding, you're still an influencer.

Lindsay Williams [00:25:09]:
Trying to influence. Yeah.

Kerstin Cable [00:25:11]:
Yeah. De influencer. I mean, I think you can't really be a de influencer without being an influencer. You know, you'd just be on the Internet, vowing

Lindsay Williams [00:25:18]:
about stuff. Send that and

Kerstin Cable [00:25:19]:
paying attention. Yeah. Yeah. Look at my wardrobe. It's not from Boohoo. Wait. Won't tell you where it's from. Goodbye. What's the point? Okay. The next word is heat dome. The Heat done. Weather term.

Lindsay Williams [00:25:35]:
Okay. Is this kind of like a, you know, like a greenhouse effecty thing where you've got an Area that's affected, there's, like, a little heat spot.

Kerstin Cable [00:25:47]:
I think it's not permanent. It's I think when you've got, like, a heat wave in a concentrated area, and it hangs around for a bit. And it's it's Right. Somehow climate change related. So, again, It it it I don't think this is far enough in common common parlance yet that it would be a good word of the year.

Lindsay Williams [00:26:12]:
I'm gonna make one to propose for next year, a bad weather dome.

Kerstin Cable [00:26:17]:
Bad weather

Lindsay Williams [00:26:18]:
dome? Is just Basically, like a UK winter.

Kerstin Cable [00:26:20]:
I was gonna say that's just like

Lindsay Williams [00:26:22]:
Or naff Weatherdome.

Kerstin Cable [00:26:24]:
That's like Lancaster where I used to live is a bad weather dome. It's always bad weather. Yeah. So a heat dome. A heat dome. We'll see if it catches on. And the last 1, I like this one, was Parasocial. 

Lindsay Williams [00:26:43]:
Again, with the Taylor Swift. So Mhmm. People kind of caring about people's, like, celebrities' Relationships, for example, and thinking that they know them in some way. So like, oh, Why would Taylor Swift date Mattie Healy? That's terrible because a b c. She should instead do x y z. I thought that She was this type of person, blah blah blah.

Kerstin Cable [00:27:11]:
Mhmm. Is that it? I think there's even more of an element where, it can also happen with podcasters, and it can happen with, social media influencers and stuff because the the personal Life and the personality of the person is a little bit more unfiltered and open, and the access seems more immediate than it used to when we maybe just had TV and books or whatever, it can start to feel because you can always press play when you wanna hear from somebody. It can feel like they're your friend or it can feel like you know the person, and you start to build a relationship with them as if they are your friend, which is sort of, I think, a natural component and, to a certain extent, one of the benefits. Like, I think, as a podcaster, I have heard from listeners who said, I feel you know, like, I take you with me on my walks. I feel like I've got a language companion, etcetera. And there is a, To a certain extent, that's part of what you do, and it's a positive aspect of it. But like you said, it can also stray into I think in a especially in a world where A lot of communication is through screens, and we've got a loneliness problem. It can it can exacerbates the the loneliness, actually, of the listener.

Kerstin Cable [00:28:36]:
Because in reality, like, a lot of listeners, for example, got in touch when we did the farewell episode of Farewell to regular fluent show. Mhmm. And I felt like, oh my gosh. You were there all the time, and I never heard from you. And for me, it was it was really special as a podcaster, but it might have felt to people like, oh, you know, Kerstin's hanging out with me every week, but I'm not out with them. Because I don't know yhat you're listening.

Lindsay Williams [00:29:01]:
One-sided thing. Right?

Kerstin Cable [00:29:03]:
Mhmm. And that's parasocial because it's Yeah. It's not quite a social relationship because you're not hanging out with each other, but it kinda feels that way. Yeah. I love this as a

Lindsay Williams [00:29:14]:
Like a like a mukbang as well.

Kerstin Cable [00:29:17]:
Like a mukbang?

Lindsay Williams [00:29:20]:
Yeah. Like a mukbang, Which was probably in the word of the year episode, like, last year or the year before. I don't know.

Kerstin Cable [00:29:24]:
I think. I remember. Yeah.

Lindsay Williams [00:29:28]:
That kind of thing. Right?

Kerstin Cable [00:29:29]:
It's, yeah, it's very it's just so I think it's a great social media word.

Lindsay Williams [00:29:38]:
It is. It is.

Lindsay Williams [00:29:39]:
I would I would rate this one a lot higher than those others in the shortest.

Kerstin Cable [00:29:43]:
Yeah. I think parasocial is cool. Maybe that it has a little bit less of a moment. You know, because it sort of just happened, and there's nothing specific that would say, okay, 2023 is the year of the parasocial relationship. But it's it feels very post pandemic.

Lindsay Williams [00:29:57]:
It but it also feels like something that now we have a word for will last.

Kerstin Cable [00:30:03]:
Mhmm. Mhmm. Do you know

Lindsay Williams [00:30:04]:
what I mean? Whereas like the others, like Riz or whatever, that's kind of feels like more of a trend word where it will sort of fade out, and eventually, people will describe someone like you said as charming again. Right? Mhmm. It will it will it will rotate, Whereas this feels like, okay, this is a word that we've now collectively discovered from, like, existing. But it probably existed before, I imagine. Right? Yeah. And now it's becoming kind of more popular lexicon. That's what that one feels like.

Kerstin Cable [00:30:35]:
Yeah. You know, it feels like a word that was created because there's a need for it. Yeah. Yeah. And we didn't have anything that would express that because we never had this extent of parasocial relationships before. So, yeah, I I agree with you that this really should have been at least a hot contender, at least a finalist. But that's a Public vote for you.

Lindsay Williams [00:30:56]:
That's why I thought Swiftie would win.

Kerstin Cable [00:30:58]:
Parasocial relationship. This wraps up the Oxford words of the year, and I think it's the OED. Of course. Someone needs to explain this to me about the OED and the university press. And something much more clear is the Cambridge dictionary. The Cambridge dictionary, which again is team chosen. And we've we've talked about their words in in recent years. They've always been a bit po faced, which is a very strange English word, what is po? But sort of, you know, it's a bit a bit overly serious, but I think this year they did they chose a great one.

Kerstin Cable [00:31:32]:
Do you know what the word of the year is from Cambridge?

Lindsay Williams [00:31:35]:
No. It's a night in the dark. Haven't seen any others.

Kerstin Cable [00:31:37]:
Okay. I needed to read this, Defined to understand the context, but now I have the word, I find it super useful. So that's just so good. And that term is hallucinate.

Lindsay Williams [00:31:52]:
Oh, okay.

Kerstin Cable [00:31:56]:
And it's it's hallucinate in the context of AI again. Right? And, I don't know whether you've done a lot of AI engagement. I obviously have because we did AI language club, and it's a thing that I've really chosen to dig into. But, yeah, have you had it happen where your AI has hallucinated?

Lindsay Williams [00:32:19]:
Tell me what it means.

Kerstin Cable [00:32:20]:
It's when the thing just makes something up. Like, it you want a useful answer, and it what might happen sometimes, like, Oh, yes. This is so I had it once where I was, this is For an AI language club tutorial, I have to I have to use this example because it was just I didn't clock that it was hallucinating. And it was Josh, my fellow language club founder who told me that this was actually nonsense. So and I was really disappointed. So I'm talking to Google bard, in this context, I'm saying, oh, I would love to know what do people in I chose Paraguay, you'd be pleased to know. What do people in Paraguay do around the Christmas season? Because it was about, finding a few ideas for the holidays and sort of learning what your target language or target language culture, what a specific culture does around the holidays. And it tells me about the festival of the Virgen de Caccupe, which is an actual thing.

Kerstin Cable [00:33:22]:
So they go and they do a big pilgrimage in January, from how I understand. And then I said, oh, are there any popular Films, can you find some YouTube videos about this? You know, are there any songs that they play? You know, really, let's dig into this cultural phenomenon that I never knew about. And it goes, oh, yeah. The 1974 film The Virgen de Caccupe. Here's the film poster, etcetera. And I'm like, okay. Yeah. This is great.

Kerstin Cable [00:33:44]:
Alright. What a great example. Let's bring it let's bring it all to the tutorial. And and I'm like, Josh, Josh, looks at look at all this. And he says, this is Are you sure this film is real? I'm like, well, it says so. Film's not real. There's no that it made the film up. It made the film up.

Lindsay Williams [00:34:03]:
I had this. Yeah.

I have. Looking for podcasts, way back, like, a year ago when I was writing the big podcast list. And I was, like, trying to see if I was missing anything. And so I was like, can you give me, like, 10 Podcasts that would be great for beginner Korean learners at this stage wanting to learn for this reason, blah blah blah. And it would just be give and it would give me 10, and I'd be like, oh, How did I miss these? I typed the titles into, like, Spotify, Google, you know, trying to and there was nothing. And I've been
like, what? Is it so yeah. I I'm okay. I didn't know that was a word. 

Kerstin Cable [00:34:49]:
No. It's well, it's very new. But that was yeah. So that was our AI partners, AI AI chat bots, whatever they were, hallucinating hallucinating.

Lindsay Williams [00:34:51]:
That's very I think that one's gonna come in a lot more.

Kerstin Cable [00:34:55]:
Mhmm. And the Cambridge commentary for this was generative AI is a powerful tool, but one we're all still learning how to interact with safely and effectively. This means being aware of both its potential strengths and its current weaknesses. And, yeah, a 100%. We we talk about this in AI Language Club as well, and just it's a real It's a constant. Like, you have to be vigilant. It's not perfect. Don't expect it to be perfect.

Kerstin Cable [00:35:19]:
And at this point, it's gonna hallucinate. And I'm hoping that Now we are aware of it. Now we can name it. We're gonna be better at spotting it as well over time.

Lindsay Williams [00:35:28]:
Yeah. That's the thing. Right? If there's a name for it, then you can spot it. Yeah.

Kerstin Cable [00:35:33]:
Yeah. Find your facts, check your sources. We'll move on to Collins. Okay? Collins has gone straight for the obvious guess what their word of the year was.

Lindsay Williams [00:35:43]:
Are they just gone AI?

Kerstin Cable [00:35:45]:
They've gone AI.

Lindsay Williams [00:35:46]:
Okay. I mean, that's kind of what it yeah. That makes the most sense out of all of these AI related ones.

Kerstin Cable [00:35:51]:
I think so. Yeah. And it there's a real trend this year. You know, every year, but, like, a few years ago, we had lockdown, lockdown, lockdown, and all that kind of stuff for, like and then we had vaccination. We had the year where everybody talked about sing. This is the year everybody talks about AI, and data considered to be the next great technological revolution. AI, artificial intelligence, has seen rapid development and has been much talked about in 2023. Can't deny it.

Lindsay Williams [00:36:16]:
Even call it a technological revolution. I'd call it an industrial revolution, to be honest.

Kerstin Cable [00:36:21]:
It's gonna be in it. But the Internet was too, wasn't it?

Lindsay Williams [00:36:25]:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Kerstin Cable [00:36:27]:
Yeah. It's certainly Yeah. It's it's it's it's a fascinating time to be noticing that this is starting. You know?

Lindsay Williams [00:36:40]:
Yeah. But not you it's weird. Right? Because it's not even starting. It's just It's basically kind of ChatGPT made

Kerstin Cable [00:36:49]:
Yeah.

Lindsay Williams [00:36:50]:
Sort of media go, oh, look at this. Whereas these things we've been using for ages, like Google Maps, when it gives you a route Yeah. Is using AI.

Kerstin Cable [00:37:00]:
That's it. Yeah.

Lindsay Williams [00:37:01]:
All of these things. Yeah?

Kerstin Cable [00:37:02]:
Your Siri. Your Alexa thingy?

Lindsay Williams [00:37:05]:
Exactly. Like, it's nothing new. And I think that it's very The name AI is quite sort of convenient in terms of, like, the robots are gonna take over. It's artificial intelligence. Whereas, really, like, I remember I was listening to a podcast about it, and it and they said, it sort of started with what's can some what's AI? Can someone explain it to me? And the response was, it's a terrible choice of words from the fifties or something like that. And I really liked that. It sort of actually Puts your mind at ease a little bit that, actually, we're still the ones where it's getting this data from.

Kerstin Cable [00:37:45]:
Do you

Lindsay Williams [00:37:45]:
know what I mean?

Kerstin Cable [00:37:46]:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. A 100%. I think it's yeah. And it's the term artificial and then the term intelligence, the way it's intelligence. Because then you're thinking, oh, higher intelligence and aliens from outer space and, you know, with you know? And and there's been a lot of talk.

Kerstin Cable [00:38:01]:
Right? You know? Because the OpenAI, the company, and then they they had the Boss stepped down, and then he was coming back, and then he was saying, oh my god. It's all gonna go crazy. It's gonna learn how to make bombs and, you know, maybe. Maybe. Maybe next year, we're not gonna be recording this podcast. It'll just be my my AI self, AI Lindsay. But it it so it's it's certainly been I agree with you. As the kind of moment and the thing that we we've told talked and thought about a lot and we're having to learn, AI, Not a new term, but term of the year, 100%.

Kerstin Cable [00:38:36]:
Do you want an absolute super speedy tour, like, to through the shortlist?

Lindsay Williams [00:38:43]:
Go on.

Kerstin Cable [00:38:43]:
Oh, there's some good stuff on this.

Lindsay Williams [00:38:45]:
Go on.

Kerstin Cable [00:38:45]:
We we're nearly at Australian levels of great words here. Okay. Number 1. Okay. I didn't really understand this one properly. It's it's Bazball, b a zed, ball. Bazball.

Lindsay Williams [00:38:57]:
Not a clue.

Kerstin Cable [00:38:58]:
Okay. Apparently, it's some sort of aggressive cricket batting technique or something.

Lindsay Williams [00:39:03]:
Okay.

Kerstin Cable [00:39:03]:
No idea, cricket, who cares

Lindsay Williams [00:39:05]:
a guy called Bad who does it.

Kerstin Cable [00:39:06]:
Yeah. Maybe. Maybe. Second, de influencing, we've discussed.

Lindsay Williams [00:39:13]:
Yeah.

Kerstin Cable [00:39:14]:
And then number 3, Nepo Baby.

Lindsay Williams [00:39:19]:
Yeah. This I find interesting. Like, why has this suddenly become a thing when, like, Jamie Lee Curtis, for example

Kerstin Cable [00:39:29]:
Mhmm.

Lindsay Williams [00:39:29]:
Both, like, both her parents were Huge actors. Like, it it's not really, like, a new thing that your children would go into industries or would have an easier access. Like, That feels like something that's always existed.

Kerstin Cable [00:39:44]:
It's just a good term, which I don't think we've ever done a term as good as Nepo. I I think it's a great term. And, for listeners who, Nepo Baby refers to like like Lindsay says, it's quite often in the arts, and we say it with an actor, but It Nepo comes from nepotism in this case, and, maybe because we feel like everything is getting more corrupted. I don't know.

Lindsay Williams [00:40:06]:
I just that's the thing. I don't like how it feels like it's it's an insult. It's not someone's fault if they were born with actor parents.

Kerstin Cable [00:40:14]:
It's it's privilege. It's it's a

Lindsay Williams [00:40:17]:
Well, yeah. But it's not their fault. So it's like it's an insult to labels like, you were a Nepo baby. Like, I didn't ask to be.

Kerstin Cable [00:40:26]:
It's true. It's true. I I mean, I don't know. I don't think of it as much of an insult because the yeah. You can still be good. Right? And you might be more But if someone's good a certain But

Lindsay Williams [00:40:38]:
if someone's Wow. If someone's good, if someone's a good actor, are they getting that term Thrown at them. Are people using that term?

Kerstin Cable [00:40:47]:
Maybe. Possibly. Probably. I mean, that's a general discussion of of privilege. Right? Like Yeah.

Lindsay Williams [00:40:52]:
Of course.

Kerstin Cable [00:40:52]:
Did Donald Trump make all his own millions? Nepo baby? 

Lindsay Williams [00:41:15]:
"I was getting a small loan, $1,000,000." 

Kerstin Cable [00:41:19]:
Nepo, baby. Massive baby. But I I just think it's a cool term. I think the the term has a has a good flow to it, has got a rhythm to it. Yeah. I I don't I don't mind the term, but I'm not gonna I don't know about the social, like, discussion of it. That's a different That's a different thing.

Lindsay Williams [00:41:19]:
I can see why it exists and why it lasts. It's catchy. Right? Nepo baby. Like, tutu. It's yeah.

Kerstin Cable [00:41:24]:
It's got it's got rhythm. It's got rhythm. The next, same sort of 2 syllable 2 syllable, ultra processed. Yeah. I had a week last year. Normally, I don't really think very much about, like, my Is my nutrition on fleek or whatever?

Lindsay Williams [00:41:48]:
Previous word of the year contender?

Kerstin Cable [00:41:49]:
Yeah. But I did have 1 week where I was like, Everything is gonna give me cancer. I'm only gonna eat oats and, you know, like, everything pure, everything ultra processed Didn't last because it's really, really hard. So, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's a it's a new version of Everything Gives You Cancer. The next one is Canon Event, which I have never heard, but apparently that's been formed this year.

Lindsay Williams [00:42:13]:
Is that like like is it canon? Like, is, for example, a Star Wars kids cartoon canon to the whole rest of the story.

Kerstin Cable [00:42:22]:
But then a canon event, maybe this comes out of psychology language, I'm sure, is an event that is essential to the formation of an individual's character or identity.

Lindsay Williams [00:42:32]:
Oh, Okay. I've never heard that used in that way.

Kerstin Cable [00:42:36]:
So your canon event might be your first ever Shakira song.

Lindsay Williams [00:42:41]:
Yeah. In Inside Out, a core memory. In the film Inside Out, they have core memories, and they're like these glowing golden there's all these other orbs that come with different colors for different emotion emotional attachments. But then the glowing gold ones are what you want. That's the core memory. So I would call it a core memory rather than a canon event. I don't need a new term for that.

Kerstin Cable [00:43:03]:
Oh, I don't I wonder if it comes out of therapy language. Because otherwise, I don't know. I've never I've never heard this. I always like to tell people about the time my parents forgot me in the vineyard. That's my but that's more like

Lindsay Williams [00:43:15]:
your canon event.

Kerstin Cable [00:43:16]:
It's my party story as well. It's like, did you know? Parents, do you remember the time you forgot me in the vineyard? So, yes, listeners, if you ever go out for a drink with me, I'll tell you all about it. Now, next to

Lindsay Williams [00:43:30]:
You're getting very parasocial there.

Kerstin Cable [00:43:31]:
Very parasocial. Well, I would love to get actual social. This is fine. It's fine by me. Okay. Next term is debanking. Debanking, depriving a person of banking facilities, which was UK relevant, I think, because there was a Some sort of a posh bag that

Lindsay Williams [00:43:50]:
Nigel Farage.

Kerstin Cable [00:43:51]:
Yeah. They shut down the accounts of Nigel Farage, who in the UK is the sort of right wing slimeball. Brexit man. Yeah. Brexit man. I'm sorry. If you like Nigel Farage, you're listening to wrong podcast. But, yeah.

Kerstin Cable [00:44:04]:
So they they debanked him, and there was a big debate about, are you allowed to deprive a person of your facilities? And they said they came out saying his balance was too low. So they were I think they were trying to, like, take a dig and go, oh, yeah. You know, as rich as you say you are, you know, because this is the posh bank. Go away. Go on NatWest. But then came out that they just didn't like his political leanings. And Are you allowed to, as a business, refuse to trade with someone or not? And I don't know. I didn't follow the debate too closely, but I think that's what brought it into the news anyway, Debanking.

Lindsay Williams [00:44:39]:
Yeah. It feels like just 1 story for that whole word is a bit extreme.

Kerstin Cable [00:44:44]:
Yeah. I would agree. I would agree. Now okay. Next 3, Greedflation.

Lindsay Williams [00:44:52]:
Greedflation.

Kerstin Cable [00:44:52]:
Mhmm.

Lindsay Williams [00:44:54]:
Okay.

Kerstin Cable [00:44:56]:
Greedflation is when you, When you inflate your prices, and the implication is that or or maybe you say it's because it's it's inflation everywhere, but you're actually going beyond the rate of inflation. And some people might perceive that your prices are high because you're just being greedy. Want you want your profits to increase. So you're increasing your profits when I blaming inflation.

Lindsay Williams [00:45:22]:
When I go to a restaurant Because I don't know the cost of running a restaurant. I just see like, oh, the cost of coming to a restaurant has gone up. Right? So I don't know If that's in line or if it's like, oh, there's talk of inflation in the news, so we've got an excuse to finally raise our prices to what we need to But then it looks like it's gone up a lot. Do you know what I mean? I don't know.

Kerstin Cable [00:45:48]:
Mhmm. It has a strong moral judgment to it. Right? Because greed is never a positive thing. Greed is like a moral sin and stuff. There's a lot of judgment in calling something greed, so I don't think we I don't think it can be neutrally assessed. Think it has to be in the eye of the beholder.

Lindsay Williams [00:46:03]:
Yeah. I think you're right.

Kerstin Cable [00:46:05]:
Because I can think of examples where I feel like Now you were just grabbing some of it off me there. But, like you say, we don't know. Right? So I think this is more about the mood of The population and the mood of people and the mood how we all feel about what's happening to our disposable income. And it's been a year where people have felt squeezed. Yeah. Mhmm. And some people have Gone. I've had enough.

Kerstin Cable [00:46:33]:
Okay. The next one, I think is a great, topical in the news term, which is I don't know if it's a term though. It's semaglutide. Semaglutide. Don't know. Okay. It's the stuff that is sold under under brand names. One of the brand names is Ozempic, so you might have heard Ozempic.

Kerstin Cable [00:46:57]:
It's a drug weight loss thing? Well, yes. It's a drug that diabetics actually need. It suppresses appetite, and it got licensed last year, for other usages, then used as for weight loss. So a lot of people call it the, like, I don't know, skinny jab or whatever. So you can you can now purchase this if you wish to lose weight, And it it it has good results, so good short term results, because what is a long term weight loss result, please? And, Either way, there's then been a shortage. So I know I, in my extended family, know people who cannot currently get the diabetes medication that they really need because there's a worldwide shortage of this stuff.

Lindsay Williams [00:47:43]:
Oh, yeah. That sucks.

Kerstin Cable [00:47:44]:
Yeah. It's it sucks. It's a real but it's it's been in the news a lot, and it's been discussed a lot. So Semaglutide is the name. I think it would have been even better to have a word of the year to use the main brand name, but I can completely see why you wouldn't. I can see why. You can't, you know. Okay.

Kerstin Cable [00:48:00]:
And the last 1, this is super British specific. And, a great one again is ULEZ. ULEZ stands

Lindsay Williams [00:48:08]:
for Ultra low emission zone.

Kerstin Cable [00:48:11]:
Ultra low. Yes. Correct.

Lindsay Williams [00:48:13]:
So it's to do with that zone being extended In sort of out outwards from London.

Kerstin Cable [00:48:22]:
Yes.

Lindsay Williams [00:48:22]:
Yeah? Yeah. To the point where people that live in houses in areas of London where they have cars are now gonna have to pay more to use their cars Even though they're not necessarily directly connected to tubes and buses and stuff like all of that. Is that a rough assumption?

Kerstin Cable [00:48:42]:
Yeah. If not all cars. It's just if you drive a it not even you don't have to have an electric. You don't have to be 0 emissions. But if you drive a car that is considered High emission, you know, quite polluting. You you now have to pay extra, and people don't like that to pay for driving. And I think there's a general sort of driving mood. I'm gonna say vibe shift.

Kerstin Cable [00:49:04]:
Oh my god. But, you know, there's sort of this People are starting to think about it differently, but then some people don't, and then people hold on. And so, you know, my family are partly farmers. Every time I come home, my dad gives me a speech about diesel that I didn't ask for you know, so there's a lot of emission talk. So ULEZ and and with ULEZ in particular, it influenced The result of a by election is perceived, in the UK. You know? Because they were all talking about the I think 1 of the candidates went against it. The other candidate was. Stood for it, and it all kinda went one way or the other.

Lindsay Williams [00:49:39]:
Well, if it can influence the results of a general election, that would be great.

Kerstin Cable [00:49:44]:
Elections in

Lindsay Williams [00:49:46]:
What is the year?

Kerstin Cable [00:49:48]:
500 elections this year around the world.

Lindsay Williams [00:49:50]:
Do you know? 500?

Kerstin Cable [00:49:52]:
I think so. Like, half the world population or something goes to vote. India is voting this year. Yeah. India, America, like, USA, UK, the European something elections. It's every everyone's vote. Everyone's gonna vote this year. The Australians voted last year, and now this is my bridge.

Kerstin Cable [00:50:13]:
Let's go to Australia, Lindsay.

Lindsay Williams [00:50:15]:
I'm on that bridge yesterday.

Kerstin Cable [00:50:17]:
Yeah. I'm on that bridge. I'm on that boat, I'm on that plane. Let's go to Australia. Okay. In Australia, we've only got 2, sources of words of the year, but they every year, they hit the nail of the head. I love the Aussie words of the year. I'm gonna kick you off with the Australian National Dictionary Center.

Kerstin Cable [00:50:35]:
Their word of the year is Matilda.

Lindsay Williams [00:50:40]:
Okay. Why?

Kerstin Cable [00:50:42]:
It refers to the Matildas.

Lindsay Williams [00:50:45]:
The Matildas?

Kerstin Cable [00:50:46]:
Mhmm. Mhmm.

Lindsay Williams [00:50:48]:
I know there's waltzing Matilda as a song.

Kerstin Cable [00:50:50]:
Yes. I think it comes from that. It's Australia's female football slash soccer team. And last year, Australia and New Zealand hosted the women's Football World Cup.

Lindsay Williams [00:51:01]:
Okay. So Matilda's. Okay. That's nice. That's nice.

Kerstin Cable [00:51:03]:
Yeah. Matilda's is lovely. Right? It's lovely. It's positive. And there was a little note that I pulled out from the article, because this just makes me feel even more excited, is that they used to be known as.. do you know what the Australian national football team is known as

Lindsay Williams [00:51:18]:
I was just gonna ask. The the koalas?

Kerstin Cable [00:51:21]:
The men, they're called the Socceroos. Oh, that's cute. The Socceroos. And the women's team used to be just called the female Socceroos, you know, because a woman is a female man. Right? It's it's lazy, and now they have their own names, so gonna celebrate that. The Matildas. Well done, the Matildas. Did really, really well.

Kerstin Cable [00:51:41]:
And the shortlist, I'm just gonna briefly talk you through. There's 2, 2 related terms, and they are noer and yeser. Are you a noer? Are you a yeser?

Lindsay Williams [00:51:54]:
Okay. Is this did they have a vote or a referendum of some kind?

Kerstin Cable [00:52:00]:
They did. Yeah. They had a referendum on a proposed, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice in parliament. That's it. And I was quite shocked. They voted against it. They noed. Yeah.

Kerstin Cable [00:52:14]:
They know that. See? Instantly usable term. Great term.

Lindsay Williams [00:52:19]:
You kind of you like Australia for the, oh, Matildas, that's nice. They noed the vote. Oh.

Kerstin Cable [00:52:24]:
It's quite it's quite a conservative country. A rollercoaster.

Lindsay Williams [00:52:28]:
A rollercoaster of emotions.

Kerstin Cable [00:52:30]:
I know. I know. Like, I'm I'm not on board with the noing. However, saying noing and yesing and they noed, and they're a noer and they're a yeser, I'm on board with that. Yeah. Great use of language for high levels of efficiency. Then they have another Aussie very specific term, which is Truthtelling. And that is in relation to acknowledging and recognizing the historical and ongoing mistreatment and injustices affecting indigenous people in Australia.

Lindsay Williams [00:52:58]:
Oh, wow. So that's one of the words shortlisted. So that was obviously being talked about, and then No. We're still the vote.

Kerstin Cable [00:53:07]:
Makes sense. They must have had hot debates. They must have had hot debates about that, and I'm sure they're gonna try again. This is this cannot be the last or in this referendum. It'll be like Scotland. And then the last 1 is, once again, hallucinate.

Lindsay Williams [00:53:23]:
Oh, okay. Interesting.

Kerstin Cable [00:53:25]:
Okay. Okay. Macquarie Macquarie are our heroes. Macquarie always come out with, Oh, they're they're just the best. I'm saying it as if they make the words. They don't make the words. But I love them. They never disappoint.

Kerstin Cable [00:53:38]:
They're word of the year I never heard before. I have to look at how to pronounce it. So it is cozzy livs.

Lindsay Williams [00:53:48]:
Oh, okay. Yeah. 

Kerstin Cable [00:53:50]:
Have you ever heard of this?

Lindsay Williams [00:53:50]:
 es. What? Do you not follow Love of Huns on Instagram? cozzy livs, the Cost of Living Crisis.

Kerstin Cable [00:53:57]:
I follow Love of Huns on Instagram. I know you know the cozzy livs, and I wouldn't have thought because anybody says it outside that Instagram account.

Lindsay Williams [00:54:05]:
Yeah. No. I've never heard anyone say it in my life. I may have said it, like, jokingly, but to people that would know it was a joke.

Kerstin Cable [00:54:11]:
But you actually used it. Like, oh, the cozzy livs.

Lindsay Williams [00:54:14]:
No. That's what I mean. Like, as a in a sort of jokey way, like, you see yeah. I don't know. Like, in the restaurant maybe. Mhmm. And then you're like, the bill comes, and you're like, cozzy livs, isn't it? Kind of say it like that. That's how I would use it.

Kerstin Cable [00:54:25]:
I have never Not

Lindsay Williams [00:54:26]:
not in a serious way.

Kerstin Cable [00:54:27]:
I never said it. I never heard it. I thought it referred to, like, swimming costume. You know how do you you can call it Cozzy. I was like, I'm I'm I'm very into swimming. So, yeah, Cozzy Lives. I'd never heard it before. The committee commentary is although cozzy livs was coined in the UK it has resonated soundly with Australians with its 'ie' suffix and its clipped formation reminiscent, I love this, of Menty B and locky d. Yes.

Lindsay Williams [00:55:01]:
I was just gonna say. I was just gonna say.

Kerstin Cable [00:55:04]:
I do. I I love Menty B. I think it's because it sounds minty. Menty B. And it also reminded me of panny d, which is something that I heard a lot on the other time. Yeah. Okay. So it's the same Cosi Lives is like Menty B and locky d and panny d.

Lindsay Williams [00:55:19]:
I like that one.

Kerstin Cable [00:55:20]:
And what could be a more Australian approach to a major social and economic problem than to treat it with a bit of humor and informality. Australia, you just never disappoint what heroes you are, what heroes you are. Cozzy Livs. Yes. Cozzy Livs. It's it's much more fun approach than going.

Lindsay Williams [00:55:39]:
I'd rather have a lighter approach to these big, heavy things Than just be perfection. Everyone hates me. It just feels, like, so heavy. Oh, God, no.

Kerstin Cable [00:55:51]:
That's it. Feels a bit beaten down, whereas that's it. Let's bring a bit of sunshine to it, Cosi Livs. It's amazing what language can do, isn't it?

Lindsay Williams [00:56:01]:
It is.

Kerstin Cable [00:56:01]:
It's the same same thing. Do you call it greedflation? Do you call it cozzy livs? No. No. No. No. You know, and and it changes your whole outlook. Yeah. That's it.

Kerstin Cable [00:56:10]:
Amazing. Do you wanna hear the honorable mentions? I just I love Macquarie. Okay. The first one, This was a new one to me, a blue sky flood, which is another weather term.

Lindsay Williams [00:56:22]:
Oh, okay. Never heard.

Kerstin Cable [00:56:24]:
Is when And I'd forgive me if I don't quite meteorologically geologically describe this correctly. But, essentially, it's when the sun's been shining for ages and then it rains, and there's so much runoff that you have a flood.

Lindsay Williams [00:56:41]:
Yeah. That's very Australia specific, isn't it? No. That's not something we need here. That one if cozzy Lives has gone from here to Australia, that one is not gonna It's much easier to hear.

Kerstin Cable [00:56:52]:
I guess not. Yeah. If you have a long drought, where I live in the south south south east east of England, we do have droughts sometimes in the summer. So if it really chucked it down for a week after that, the ground just can't take it.

Lindsay Williams [00:57:07]:
I mean, the ground couldn't take it here the last week or so. It was very floody.

Kerstin Cable [00:57:13]:
Yeah. It's been it's been floody. So the climate is still in our language, and we're still developing language and using new language around the climate, I think, is what we're seeing here. And the 2nd term that had an honorable mention is algo speak. Algo? Algo. And it's not like algae or something. It's algorithm. So algo speak is when you, for example, do something so when you phrase something a certain way so that it doesn't affect Your social media post showing up in your algorithm.

Kerstin Cable [00:57:42]:
That's how I understand it. Oh. So you know you don't write link in bio, but you might write link in my profile.

Lindsay Williams [00:57:48]:
Right. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Like and also, like, with maybe certain words that might Triggering algorithm to go ding ding ding. So things maybe like suicide or sex or that sort of stuff.

Kerstin Cable [00:58:01]:
Yes.

Lindsay Williams [00:58:02]:
Where, Yeah. You might people might write it in spell it in a different way or put a star in the middle. Mhmm. That sort of thing. Yes.

Kerstin Cable [00:58:12]:
Yeah. That's right. That's right. Yeah. 

Lindsay Williams [00:58:16]:
So I don't know if there was a term for that.

Kerstin Cable [00:58:16]:
I I think it's really interesting that because it's a sort of, It's a term that shows just you know, that that's quite a sober, professional, calculated approach to social media, which is where we're at socially. Right? People like, social media is a lot of people's work. Social media is often part of has been or is part of our work. It's just it's just is. Listeners, let us know, via Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter or threads. Oh, I'm on threads. I'm trying to make threads happen this year. So, yeah, let us know if you've used Algo speak on the social media that the algorithm is for, and then I'll let you know if I see it.

Kerstin Cable [00:58:55]:
Okay. A few Quick one. So again, we can kinda go through the honorable mentions and People's Choice winners. They were generative AI.

Lindsay Williams [00:59:08]:
Okay.

Kerstin Cable [00:59:08]:
Yep. And then this is interesting. Not Greedflation. No. We're in Australia. We're having fun. Skimpflation. I think it's when you get a bit less for your money.

Kerstin Cable [00:59:19]:
You remember last year we had Shrinkflation. Shrinkflation? This year we have a skimpflation. Then they they had a mention for Riz. Riz made it to Australia. Okay. Hostile Architecture. Don't know how it is.

Lindsay Williams [00:59:32]:
Oh. Do you

Kerstin Cable [00:59:33]:
know what that is? No. So hostile architecture is when you design a space so that people don't feel comfortable. Oh. Right? So for example, because you might design a bus stop, but you're thinking, oh, I don't want a homeless person. Yeah. Teenagers or or a homeless person. I don't want someone camping up or hanging around there too long. So sometimes you see the park benches or the little benches, you know, they have, like, these uncomfortable spikes on them so that you don't hang around on them for too long.

Kerstin Cable [01:00:06]:
I think that's what hostile architecture is. I don't know why hostile architecture, it particularly made in Australia, but it was it was clearly in the moment. And then the last 1 was doorway effect, which a lot of us will be familiar with. I'm more more familiar with that than the cat alarms for sure, which is when you walk into a room and you've instantly forgotten what you walked into a room for.

Lindsay Williams [01:00:26]:
Oh, okay.

Kerstin Cable [01:00:28]:
Doesn't happen to Lindsay.

Lindsay Williams [01:00:30]:
No. It does happen. Of course, it happens. I'm just like, oh, okay. There's a word for it. 

Kerstin Cable [01:00:32]:
Right. Yeah. Maybe that's why it's maybe it's now a lot of people went, oh, there's a word for it.

Lindsay Williams [01:00:41]:
Yeah. Interesting.

Kerstin Cable [01:00:43]:
Yes. And that wraps up Australia. cozzy livs.

Lindsay Williams [01:00:47]:
Hi, Australia.

Kerstin Cable [01:00:49]:
Oh, yes. Okay. Would you like to stay in the English speaking world? Should we just do it all? Yes. Let's do it all. Let's do it all. Lindsey and Kerstin going to the USA. Okay. In the in the USA, I've got good news for you.

Kerstin Cable [01:01:03]:
We are recording this after, for a change, after the word of the year by the American Dialect Society has been chosen. So I've I've included that.

Lindsay Williams [01:01:15]:
I'm on the edge of my seat.

Kerstin Cable [01:01:17]:
Right. But I'm gonna hold you on the edge of your seat for a second and have a quick look at what Merriam Webster uses. And Merriam Webster, a dictionary company, they're interesting because they don't committee select or public vote their word of the year. They base their choice on lookup data. And they found that authentic saw a substantial increase in 2023, driven by stories and conversations about AI, celebrity culture, identity, and social media. So their word of the year is authentic.

Lindsay Williams [01:01:51]:
That makes a lot of sense.

Kerstin Cable [01:01:52]:
Yeah. It feels like it captures the moment.

Lindsay Williams [01:01:56]:
It does. It feels like as well that there's, I would say, like, a rise in its use maybe in recent years in general. If you think about sort of just celebrity Internet culture and then things like filters and Ways that you then become inauthentic online.

Kerstin Cable [01:02:16]:
Mhmm.

Lindsay Williams [01:02:16]:
So you've got that that already exists. And you would choose to keep the label online. For that. Exactly. Exactly. So inauthentic becomes an insult. Authentic then becomes something that you wanna claim for yourself, so you would use More. Do you know what I mean? Mhmm.

Lindsay Williams [01:02:32]:
I can see that becoming word of the year. Yeah.

Kerstin Cable [01:02:35]:
Yeah. Good choice. I think good choice or, I guess, not a choice. Good good data summary. Well done, Merriam Webster. Good dataing.

Kerstin Cable [01:02:45]:
Run you through their list of also other words that also stood out because they were looked up a lot on Merriam Webster. The first one is is Riz. No. And they, gave a lot of more information about where this Riz word comes from. So apparently, there's a YouTuber called Kai Cenat who coined the term or he himself says no. It's just something that me and my friends were throwing around as buns. And, he describes it there's like a YouTube video. I've put it in show notes him talking about it.

Kerstin Cable [01:03:17]:
And he essentially uses Riz just in in this guy's world, it looks to me like it just meant, are you good at chatting up girls? Oh. That you'd have a very specific

Lindsay Williams [01:03:29]:
Oh. So it's not Charisma. It's not like

Kerstin Cable [01:03:36]:
It's not charisma. General Not uniqueness, not nerves, not talent. Nope. None of that. Oh, how disappointing. What horrible origin story? Me. Yeah. Yeah.

Kerstin Cable [01:03:44]:
I know. What a yeah. Yeah. It's a bit it's a bit of a deflating feeling. So it is. Whatever. Other words included deep fake, coronation old. Yeah?

Lindsay Williams [01:03:56]:
Oh, yeah. That's this year.

Kerstin Cable [01:03:58]:
Coronation Life. That man is old.

Lindsay Williams [01:03:59]:
About that.

Kerstin Cable [01:04:00]:
Dystopian. Dystopian had his had a got looked up a lot anyway. Then EGOT. Do you know what EGOT is?

Lindsay Williams [01:04:09]:
I do. It's an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony.

Kerstin Cable [01:04:14]:
That's right. Yeah.

Lindsay Williams [01:04:15]:
Why would that be looked up this year? Did someone get an EGOT?

Kerstin Cable [01:04:19]:
Viola Davis.

Lindsay Williams [01:04:21]:
Oh, Did she do the thing in that song? No. Angela Bassett did the thing.

Kerstin Cable [01:04:27]:
Oh

Lindsay Williams [01:04:28]:
she was she in that rap Probably

Kerstin Cable [01:04:31]:
wasn't I don't

Lindsay Williams [01:04:32]:
know fully who Viola Davis is. I have to check Google after.

Kerstin Cable [01:04:36]:
An actress. She's an actress. She's she's black. I wonder if she was the 1st I don't wanna I don't wanna dishonor anybody who who egoted before her, but She used it as a verb, I think. So she maybe she is the 1st who used it as a verb. She said, oh, I just egoted. So

Lindsay Williams [01:04:53]:
Oh, nice.

Kerstin Cable [01:04:54]:
Okay. Congratulations either way. That's what my notes say. Like, congratulations, Viola Davis. Well done. Well done, you. Good for you. Egot.

Kerstin Cable [01:05:02]:
Then we have x.

Lindsay Williams [01:05:05]:
Okay.

Kerstin Cable [01:05:06]:
As in not Twitter. Whatever. Moving on. Yeah. Implode. Do you remember that?

Lindsay Williams [01:05:11]:
Why? No.

Kerstin Cable [01:05:12]:
Why? Because of the the thing that imploded, the submersible.

Lindsay Williams [01:05:16]:
Oh, The Titanic submarine.

Kerstin Cable [01:05:19]:
the Titan submarine. Yeah.

Lindsay Williams [01:05:21]:
I shouldn't laugh. The I didn't really know what happened in the end. It imploded?

Kerstin Cable [01:05:25]:
It imploded. That's what happened.

Lindsay Williams [01:05:27]:
Oh, wow.

Kerstin Cable [01:05:29]:
Yeah. Yeah. So this is specifically related to the Titan submarine, which wasn't built well enough to withstand the pressure to how far it went down and then imploded. So it kind of collapsed under pressure. Yeah?

Lindsay Williams [01:05:43]:
It feels like it's just a one time thing.

Kerstin Cable [01:05:46]:
Mhmm. Well, the next one But if people were looking it up,

Lindsay Williams [01:05:49]:
then, you know

Kerstin Cable [01:05:50]:
I think people were looking it up. It's interesting because it's sort of Which words did people find interesting enough to look up?

Lindsay Williams [01:05:56]:
Yeah. That's

Kerstin Cable [01:05:57]:
it. So this is sort of like, what are cool words. Doppelganger is another one. Why? I think okay. So because the author Naomi Klein has written a book about how she keeps getting mistaking for Naomi Wolf.

Lindsay Williams [01:06:12]:
Okay.

Kerstin Cable [01:06:13]:
And it's called doppelganger, I think.

Lindsay Williams [01:06:15]:
Right. Okay.

Kerstin Cable [01:06:16]:
I think that's it. Maybe also Something else. Don't know. If you've been saying Doppelganger a lot, especially if you're new in the USA, let us know. Covenant is the next. And then Indict, I've already forgotten what Covenant was in relation to in so I'm gonna skip that. 

Lindsay Williams [01:06:36]:
Indict in relation to Donald Trump? Something political.

Kerstin Cable [01:06:37]:
Something political. Oh. He got indicted, or maybe Joe Biden got indicted. Maybe they both did. Oh. Neither of them have done that well, really. Then there is elemental, another one. Elemental, I wrote down because I can't remember maybe.

Lindsay Williams [01:06:54]:
Maybe the Disney film.

Kerstin Cable [01:06:56]:
I didn't write down reasons for these. I should have been a bit more it made sense at the time when I read it. Kibbutz, that's one that makes sense to me.

Lindsay Williams [01:07:05]:
Kibbutz. Kibbutz. Israel Gaza?

Kerstin Cable [01:07:07]:
This is Israel Gaza. Yes. Mhmm. And then the last one, I think interesting, is a deadname.

Lindsay Williams [01:07:14]:
A deadname.

Kerstin Cable [01:07:14]:
A deadname. You know deadnaming someone?

Lindsay Williams [01:07:17]:
When yeah. When you call a trans person by the name they previously used. Right?

Kerstin Cable [01:07:24]:
Yes. Pretty much. Yeah.

Lindsay Williams [01:07:25]:
Yeah.

Kerstin Cable [01:07:25]:
Yeah.

Lindsay Williams [01:07:25]:
Yeah.

Kerstin Cable [01:07:26]:
I actually recently, there was somebody I know who is trans, and I didn't, you know, sort of, like, someone I used to know, not someone I'm regularly in contact with. And I saw this post, and I didn't clock this, but the I saw them this person posting, on online. And They said, oh, my my username on his forum, because I know him from an online forum, used to be "deadname" and then, you know, what the username had after it. And I was like, oh, so you're not and then I looked at the what they put, and I was like, oh, you are this person? And but I I thought it was interesting the way that they put it. Like, they would not even in their old, like, username, they were like, I'm I'm not using that. I'm putting deadname.

Lindsay Williams [01:08:13]:
Oh, they oh, oh, okay. Sorry. I thought

you were just being respectful and not saying it.

Kerstin Cable [01:08:17]:
No. No. No. They used it Right. Themselves, which I thought was was fascinating because it's sort of like, you look at this. If you know, you connect the dots.

Lindsay Williams [01:08:28]:
The tone. That sets the tone. Yes. Like, I'm not gonna use this.

Kerstin Cable [01:08:31]:
This is exactly what I'm saying. This is the respect I want. Yeah.

Lindsay Williams [01:08:34]:
Exactly. Yeah. I thought it

Kerstin Cable [01:08:36]:
was very interesting and, like, respect. Respect to that lady. Okay. So American Dialect Society. Okay. Honestly, I don't mind that we usually miss the ADS words because they're for me, they're always trying to be extra clever.

Lindsay Williams [01:08:55]:
Okay.

Kerstin Cable [01:08:57]:
I don't I don't okay. So I'm gonna give you the 2022 because we missed it last year. It was just forever. Honestly, is -ussy.

Lindsay Williams [01:09:11]:
U s s y. Oh, okay.

Kerstin Cable [01:09:14]:
You know, like, You could say the word p - ussy is obviously a word. Yeah. And then but they were like, okay. But you can also say b - ussy, which is a boy one. And I was just like, I don't what what are you on about? I don't know what what? Okay. So last year's and I thought this is, this is very Clever, isn't it? I don't know. I didn't I didn't really like it. Sorry.

Kerstin Cable [01:09:40]:
Sorry, ADS. And then the next one, the American Dialect Society word of the year 2023 is enshittification.

Lindsay Williams [01:09:52]:
Mhmm.

Kerstin Cable [01:09:54]:
It's from a blog post by an author called Cory Doctorow who used it to describe how digital platforms become worse and worse. So I guess it's a way of moaning about how Twitter is not as good as it used to be or whatever.

Lindsay Williams [01:10:13]:
Okay. So accept that that phase of life has passed and move on? That's a weird

Kerstin Cable [01:10:20]:
I guess I

Lindsay Williams [01:10:21]:
I just

Kerstin Cable [01:10:22]:
I don't know. I don't really I just don't really like the why Why are we having to make a fancy word and then put shit in the middle of it? Like, don't do that. I don't get it. I don't get it. It's like, on the one hand, it's an -ification. Right? So we're pretending it's like, what, scientific term or something. And on the on the other hand, we're putting Like, why can't we say rubbish ification then? It feels like there's it feels like there's a cleverer way. 

Lindsay Williams: Like, Cosi lives.

Kerstin Cable [01:10:58]:
That's a fun way.

Lindsay Williams [01:11:00]:
It feels like you could be really clever With, like, you know, play a bit of a play with the words rather than just dump a swear word in the middle of some Common prefixes and suffixes.

Yeah. And that's not to say that, like, when the person originally used this in that blog that They were wrong. Like, that's what they chose to use. That's fine. But then to be selected for, like, word of the year, that just feels like,

Kerstin Cable [01:11:29]:
Yeah. I don't I just couldn't really I didn't really feel it.

Lindsay Williams [01:11:32]:
And I think So we haven't been missing much for the for the past few episodes of Word of the Year.

Kerstin Cable [01:11:37]:
No. Come on now, American dialect just like honestly. Okay. Moving on. Dictionary.com, Lindsay.

Lindsay Williams [01:11:44]:
Okay.

Kerstin Cable [01:11:46]:
They are Straightforward. I love them. Okay. The the word of the year is hallucinate.

Lindsay Williams [01:11:53]:
This is so interesting. This is the only one that's come up Multiple times specifically this word. Right?

Kerstin Cable [01:12:00]:
That's true. That's true. Yeah. I think it really sums up sort of, You know, like, we're here to embrace the new revolution. Oh, hang on. This is not quite as good as you know, like, there's a sort of sense of A disillusionment in there and just sort of like a it's just a whole new thing. It's just a whole new thing. I don't think we've ever you know, we've been a society that trusts computers.

Kerstin Cable [01:12:25]:
And now all of a sudden, it's like, oh, but don't trust a computer for that.

Lindsay Williams [01:12:28]:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's curious.

Kerstin Cable [01:12:30]:
It's It's fascinating. It I feel like it really captures something. So Hallucinate, good job. And their shortlist was Strike. Lots of strikes in many places. Riz, again.

Lindsay Williams [01:12:43]:
Right. Yeah. Oh, yeah. That one's come up a few times too, hasn't it?

Kerstin Cable [01:12:46]:
Wokeism?

Lindsay Williams [01:12:49]:
Yeah. 2 years ago, maybe.

Kerstin Cable [01:12:51]:
Yeah. Although I do feel like woke, And

Lindsay Williams [01:12:54]:
then woke ism. Yeah.

Kerstin Cable [01:12:56]:
Yeah. And the usage of the word woke keeps shifting. Right? So I can see it's still the mean meaning keeps shifting. The way who uses it keeps shifting, so it's Still quite interesting. Wokeism, once again, and wildfire. And then super interesting, and I this, I really love, dictionary 20 dictionary.com 2023 also selected something that they called a vibe of the year.

Lindsay Williams [01:13:21]:
Oh, okay.

Kerstin Cable [01:13:22]:
Yeah. So the word we selected for vibe of the year is based on the shared sense that we're all looking for ways to define the perpetually shifting stages of our cultural and personal histories. Our choice is also, of course, inspired by the year's most high profile record setting, Impossible to ignore culture of you...

Lindsay Williams [01:13:41]:
Oh eras! 

Kerstin Cable [01:13:43]:
Did you look that up?

Lindsay Williams [01:13:45]:
No. But as you were saying, I was like, okay. That makes so much sense.

Kerstin Cable [01:13:49]:
Isn't it beautiful? Yeah. Yeah. I love it. Eros. It's it's a really

Lindsay Williams [01:13:53]:
good one. That is that is something I do use kind of following a Taylor Swift narrative of, like, you might say, oh, I mean, my reputation era. I mean, you know, you can kind of Use that for yourself quite comfortably, I think.

Kerstin Cable [01:14:08]:
Yes. Yeah. I I fully agree. I fully agree. I think eras really works in so many different ways, and it it feels really good. And, you know, people saying I'm in my this and that era, has really cut through. So I I wanna give Henri mentioned it to the vibe of the year by dictionary.com, which I think is is is excellent. Eros.

Kerstin Cable [01:14:31]:
Eras. And that concludes the English speaking world. Do you wanna choose a favorite out of let's recap. Riz from the Oxford, Hallucinate from Cambridge, AI from Collins, Matilda from the ANDC, cozzy livs from Macquarie, Authentic from Merriam Webster, enshittification from the ADS, and Dictionary.com's Hallucinate. And we'll mention the eras as well.

Lindsay Williams [01:14:55]:
I do actually really like eras. I I think that's a good one. I I wonder how long it will last, and I don't know how much it sort of Permeates to general use. Do you know what I mean? I'm curious about hallucinate. I wonder If in a year's time, AI, or generative AI, I should say, will still be hallucinating as much because of this, It's like coining of this term, you know, maybe they'll think, oh, wow. We need to work on that. You know? I feel just like overall AI. Like, I don't think we need a specific hallucinate or this one or that one.

Lindsay Williams [01:15:38]:
Mhmm. So I would say maybe AI as, like, a broad Covers the basis of the year term.

Kerstin Cable [01:15:45]:
Yeah. Although I do wanna give a shout out to cozzy livs because it's the only one that

Lindsay Williams [01:15:50]:
Oh, yeah.

Kerstin Cable [01:15:51]:
We have seen version we know we've seen the greedflation, the skinflation, this general feeling of no one's got any money, is is around. And I think cozzy livs is is the only word of the year that really addresses that. So those were the themes of the year, definitely. I would say AI and cost of living. Punctured by punctuated by a few Implosions and purifications or whatever. Okay. Shall we leave the English speaking realm.

Lindsay Williams [01:16:28]:
Let's go.

Kerstin Cable [01:16:29]:
Let's go. Okay. Germany, you'll be so pleased to know. Germany. Germany. I'm so proud of them. They've managed to not have an English word as their word of the year. Congratulations, Deutschland.

Kerstin Cable [01:16:42]:
You've done it. You've actually used your own language. The German the German word of the year is Krisenmodus.

Lindsay Williams [01:16:51]:
living crisis. Right?

Kerstin Cable [01:16:52]:
Yeah. Is crisis, and is a mode. Crisis mode.

Lindsay Williams [01:16:57]:
Oh, crisis mode. Okay. Mhmm. It's a mood moodus. Is that would that be, like, mooden? You live

Kerstin Cable [01:17:03]:
In places. You it's say that means tired. Tired? Oh, okay. Yeah. That's fine. But this is m o d, not m You unlock the crisis

Lindsay Williams [01:17:13]:
mode.

Kerstin Cable [01:17:14]:
Crisis mode. Yeah. And they say to translate, there have always been crises. But this year, the crises and dealing with them seem to culminate, and they quote the vice chancellor of Germany, Don't know who that is. That we are surrounded by crises. Yeah. Again, man. Call it

Lindsay Williams [01:17:39]:
Crisis mode or something. Like like, why do we have to cry? Crisis surrounding. Like, oh. Yeah. So heavy, so intense.

Kerstin Cable [01:17:48]:
Well, it's Germany, you know. They love a bit of drama. Okay. I will just quickly run us through the list of top tense. The second word is antisemitismus, translating to antisemitism, which I think in Germany, you know, a country in particular, That debate, really lived up again after Israel Gaza and all that stuff kicked off. So, but even before then, it's just just been some it's not been good. It's not been good in either way. So antisemitismus is on the list.

Kerstin Cable [01:18:24]:
Leseunfähig is the third one. Oh. So lesze Okay. What's everybody else. It means reading. Yeah. unfähig means unable. So it's to being unable to read.

Kerstin Cable [01:18:36]:
Oh. Because apparently, Germany did badly did pretty bad when it came to the, PISA study and just generally does an a rise in Germany of people who can't read German,

Lindsay Williams [01:18:51]:
apparently. Interesting.

Kerstin Cable [01:18:52]:
Interesting. Yeah. Education system's having a bit of a, A a bad moment. A bit of a.

Lindsay Williams [01:18:57]:
Oh, that's why they're sounded by.

Kerstin Cable [01:19:00]:
Yeah. So much. The next one is the KI Boom, the KI Boom.

Lindsay Williams [01:19:08]:
Is is that, like, Is that the German way of saying AI?

Kerstin Cable [01:19:14]:
It is. Yeah. KI. KI. Okay. Okay. Intelligence. So, artificial intelligence.

Kerstin Cable [01:19:20]:
Yeah. KI in Germany. If you talk about AI, it's KI. Then we have Ampelzoff. So, zoff is a word for when you don't get on with each other. And the ampel, we discussed last year. It's the German government coalition because they are are red, yellow, and green colors of the parties. Hybrid warfare, the next one, hybrid Kriegsführung

Lindsay Williams [01:19:43]:
one word?

Kerstin Cable [01:19:44]:
No. hybrid. Hybrid is the adjective, and then Kriegsführung is a word. Yeah. Okay. So war warfare. Hybrid warfare. Pretty much the same.

Kerstin Cable [01:19:54]:
Then we've got we we do have some really good, compounds, actually. The next one is Migrationsbremse. migration break, I guess.

Lindsay Williams [01:20:03]:
Okay.

Kerstin Cable [01:20:03]:
Yeah. They've been talking about that. Then they've been talking about the Miilliardenloch. K. A Milliard just had this discussion Question with, with Kristine about what's a billion? What's a million? What's a something?

Lindsay Williams [01:20:18]:
Oh, it's million? Okay. Is that billion?

Kerstin Cable [01:20:20]:
It's billion.

Lindsay Williams [01:20:21]:
Yeah. Like in French. Right?

Kerstin Cable [01:20:23]:
Yes. Exactly. Okay. Yeah. And then Miilliardenloch is, a hole worth 1,000,000,000.

Lindsay Williams [01:20:31]:
Oh, okay.

Kerstin Cable [01:20:32]:
Yeah. So

Lindsay Williams [01:20:32]:
Yeah. Crisis all around.

Kerstin Cable [01:20:34]:
Government's not got any money is is essentially what that sums up the Miilliardenloch. And, the next one, I really like.

Lindsay Williams [01:20:44]:
Something time Gazellshaft. I always it always makes me think of a giraffe, that word. Gazellshaft.

Kerstin Cable [01:20:53]:
Oh, it's nothing to do with a gazelle. What does it mean? So tile, part, Teilzeitgesellschaft.

Lindsay Williams [01:21:01]:
Part time, like

Kerstin Cable [01:21:02]:
Part time society.

Lindsay Williams [01:21:03]:
Society. Okay. A bit of a sort of 0 hour zero hour contract vibe to it.

Kerstin Cable [01:21:09]:
Yes. Yeah. And just a shift in society where more and more people work part time.

Lindsay Williams [01:21:16]:
Mhmm. Interesting.

Kerstin Cable [01:21:19]:
Yeah. Is Germany becoming a Teilzeitgesellschaft? Because they're sure I could just see it on, like, you know, newspaper hand wringing. And the last one is Kussskandal. For me, this is remarkable because it's 3 s's in a row, which when I learned to spell in Germany, weren't allowed to do, but you are allowed since our spelling reforms in 2000 or whenever. But, so kiss scandal. And that's the only word of the year reference I've seen every anywhere that relates to this kissing kerfuffle after the Women's World Cup.

Lindsay Williams [01:21:51]:
Okay.

Kerstin Cable [01:21:52]:
Even in Spain, didn't make it

Lindsay Williams [01:21:54]:
as worded in. Make it.

Kerstin Cable [01:21:55]:
No. So the KISS scandal, yes, the Kussskandal maybe start maybe stood out because it's a word with 3 s's. It's a compound where the first word, kiss, ends with 2 s's and then a scandal, and you've got 3 s's in a row, so it's a cool looking word.

Lindsay Williams [01:22:12]:
Yeah. That is. I'm sort of trying to picture it. That's pretty cool. Okay.

Kerstin Cable [01:22:17]:
Another example of that type is, Schifffahrt shipping, which ends schiff ends in 2 f's, and then fahrt starts with, An f. So you got a word that's got 3 f's in the middle.

Lindsay Williams [01:22:29]:
Oh, nice. Kinda like me. The English word freed, I always wanna spell with an extra e.

Kerstin Cable [01:22:36]:
Like, free and then e d. I always wanna I feel like that's how it should be,

Kerstin Cable [01:22:40]:
but no. Yeah. Yeah. That you want it you want, like, free apostrophe e almost?

Lindsay Williams [01:22:47]:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Kerstin Cable [01:22:49]:
So that was the last one of the words that are here in Germany. They they kind of didn't really they sort of did this is our number 1, but actually all of these are our number 1. So they they didn't really give us a big list. They also have a youth word. The youth word is voted for. It got done really, really early. And, this year's youth word in Germany, as always, I have no idea why or how. I'm not a German youth.

Kerstin Cable [01:23:13]:
I'm a German, but not a youth. The word is goofy. Goofy? Goofy.

Lindsay Williams [01:23:20]:
Surprised it wasn't blooming Riz again.

Kerstin Cable [01:23:24]:
Rose did Rose was on the shortlist. Maybe we each have a youth word. So we we each have youth words. So Goofy, it's, used in the same way as you would, use the English word. So if if you call somebody you know, if you say, oh, she's a bit goofy.

Lindsay Williams [01:23:38]:
I like that word. I feel like it's a nice it's one of those words where it could be taken as a compliment or an insult depending on the context. Right?

Kerstin Cable [01:23:47]:
Yeah. I wonder I wonder whether they I remember because they're there's the Disney dog, isn't there, called Goofy?

Lindsay Williams [01:23:53]:
Yeah. Who is Goofy?

Kerstin Cable [01:23:55]:
As a kid, Like, Mickey Mouse's dog mate. I don't know. As a kid, we used to have cartoons with Goofy in, but I never knew any English. Right? So Everybody around me neither, so we just pronounce it gawfee. Oh. Yeah. I guess it's to pronounce it goofy as well is part of the thing.

Lindsay Williams [01:24:16]:
Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah.

Kerstin Cable [01:24:18]:
Could be. Might be. Unclear. Unclear. But that was Germany. I'm not gonna I'm gonna spare you the shortlist of youth words. But listeners, the link is in the show notes. Fluent.show/243 if you want more words.

Kerstin Cable [01:24:31]:
We've got a lot of words today. Okay. I've got 3 smaller articles, smaller words. I kinda ran out of steam, but I did find a few. Pan, and I'm gonna, I guess, start in Europe. The Spanish word of the year, I thought was a good one. It was really interesting.