As contemporary as a BUNGALOFT or a pair of BUMSTERS, the language report , published on 9 October by Oxford University Press, provides a fascinating snapshot of English in the first years of the 21st century.
Written by Susie Dent, language consultant on Channel 4's Countdown, the language report takes an entertaining look at the words we use today and how we use them. It answers such questions as 'where do new words come from, and do they last?', and charts the trends in street slang, texting and chat-room language, sports talk, fashion-speak, and political double speak. If you want to get AHEAD OF THE CURVE or SEX UP your English, this book is your indispensable guide.
Delia Smith has been recognized in a dictionary (DO A DELIA), but the language report shows that she's not the only person who could say 'I'm a celebrity, get me into the dictionary!' People in the public eye such as NIGELLA LAWSON, CHARLIE DIMMOCK, DAMIEN HIRST, and QUENTIN TARANTINO are just some of the celebrities whose names are starting to transcend their owners and enter the language in their own right. In politics, we've seen CHERIEGATE and CAMPBELLGATE, and have tried to avoid being BLAIRIZED by the BLAIRISTAS, while in fashion, language changes as quickly as a BECKHAM haircut, whether it be a Mohican, alice band or cornrows.
A further trend of the times is to convert personalities into rhyming slang: in this case, it's the sound of their name which counts. BRITNEY SPEARS (beers), RUBY MURRAY (curry), DARREN GOUGH (cough), and PETE TONG (wrong) are just a few of the new and inventive examples of popney slang.
Quotations of the 21st century include Tony Blair's message to Parliament: 'Now is not the time to falter', and to some the no less historic apology from Alex Ferguson for a wayward kick of a boot at David Beckham: 'It's a freak act of nature. It's a freak, it'll never happen again'.
the language report gives us some surprising insights into our language; did you know that 99% of new words are not new at all? Over half of all new words are the results of joining together existing words (LADYBOY, UBERHACKER), while blending parts of words to make new ones (SLACKTIVISM, BOLLOTICS) accounts for around 5% of new coinages. Old words taking on new meanings make up another 15%: for example LUSH now also means 'sexually attractive', and a ZIPPER also describes a display of news or adverts which scrolls across an illuminated screen.
But the language report isn't just about the BLEEDING EDGE of English. With help from the unrivalled resources of the Oxford English Dictionary , it compares the new coinages of 100 years ago with the freshly minted words of 2003. Some of the terms of 1903 still have a contemporary feel - GENETICS, IDENTITY CARD, and TABLOID JOURNALISM - while others are showing their age, such as TOODLE-OO and DIVVY (meaning 'excellent, divine'). New words of 2003 include PRECIPICE BOND, HOMEBOUNDER, and SPEED DATING. Such words give us an insight into the social preoccupations of the time, but will they be remembered a hundred years from now?
the language report is the frontline account of today's English, offering an enlightening selection of intriguing facts and observations about all aspects of our language. It publishes on 9 October 2003, priced £9.99 in hardback.