Vote for your Word of the Century!

To vote, simply go to our survey and nominate one of the words, or you can suggest one of your own!

Reporting on language from the front line, Susie Dent charts the latest developments in our use of English, from business and science to politics and the media; in print, on the street, and online. And in this brand new edition of The Language Report, she takes the opportunity to look back to the beginnings of the 21st century to assess eight years of frenetic language change, and to invite the nation to select the word which represents the events or moods of the century so far.

The Language Report: English on the move 2000–2007

The following words, which include the choice for the year 2007, footprint, offer a partial snapshot of the decade so far. Not all are brand new. Some are older words which have found a new and high–profile context. There are many more possibilities.

Which word sums up the 21st century for you?

Axis of evil
This term, first used by George W. Bush in his State of the Union address in January 2002, came to be shorthand in his administration's rhetoric about the threat of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction from an 'axis' or group of countries which included Iraq, Iran, and North Korea.

bling
Although coined in the late nineties by the US rapper B.G (Baby Gangsta), 'bling' is for many the word of the early noughties, denoting a celebrity-obsessed culture intent on being as flashy as those who were idolized.

chav
The word 'chav' is a near-perfect example of the speed at which today's new words can spread. Very few of us will have heard of it until 2004/5 and it still remains at the forefront of an 'us and them' mentality which has characterized the opening decade of the century.

bovvered
The word of the year in 2006, Catherine Tate's catchphrase of 'bovvered' has been repeated by the media as a neat shorthand for Britain's couldn't–care–less adolescents.

9/11
9/11 has become the immediate reference point for the terrorist attacks against America in 2001. Their repercussions have resonated throughout the years since, and many might consider them to be the catalyst for a chain of political and social events which have dominated the decade.

Sars and bird flu
SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) gripped the public imagination in 2004 as the latest threat to public health. However, it is H5N1 or bird flu that is ringing alarm bells today.

sex up
Meaning to make something more appetizing, dramatic, or indeed sexy. This phrase came into greater currency thanks to a BBC report by the journalist Andrew Gilligan that British intelligence documents on Iraq had been 'sexed up' in order to justify war. The phrase 'sexing up' was soon applied to any number of contexts, from one's body and bedroom to further political documents where spin was suspected.

footprint
The dramatic embrace of environmental endeavour has been accompanied by an array of new words and terms. The frequency with which 'footprint' now evokes an environmental context can be measured by the Oxford English Corpus, with 'carbon', 'ecological' and 'reduce' among its most frequent companions.

bowser
Few could have predicted the value of the bowser, supplying uncontaminated water to thousands of flood–affected Britons in the summer of 2007.

To vote for one of the above, go to our survey, or you can your own word of the century!

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