Comedians including Jo Brand, Sara Pascoe, Aisling Bea, Nish Kumar and Mae Martin (pictured) will discuss the word of the year and more in a one-off Channel 4 programme.
Word of the Year 2017 will explore the meaning, origin and significance of the word "youthquake" and other words that made an impact in 2017.
Can you spot a ‘hatfish’ or a ‘manfant’? Do you know the difference between a ‘broflake’ and a ‘snowflake’? Is ‘lagom’ or ‘lykke’ your chosen path to happiness? Do you prefer a unicorn smoothie to milkshake duck?
Also appearing are TV presenters Rick Edwards and June Sarpong, social historian Emma Dabiri, writers Jack Monroe and Brontë Aurell and lexicographers Susie Dent and Katherine Martin.
Word of the Year 2017 airs Saturday 16th December at 6pm on Channel 4.
Announced as the chosen word in a blog post and video, youthquake saw an almost fivefold (401%) increase in usage between 2016 and 2017, following the British general election where much debate focused on the mobilization of young voters in supporting opposition parties. Aftershocks have been felt across the world, including in New Zealand and in France, and whether or not they experienced a youthquake, the word certainly highlights the increased awareness of young people’s capacity to influence, and even drive, political change.
However, despite so aptly capturing the mood of 2017, youthquake is not a new word but rather one that is newly prominent this year and being used in different contexts. Based on the formation of the word ‘earthquake’ and originally coined in the 1960s by then-Vogue editor, Diana Vreeland, to describe how British youth culture was changing the world’s fashion and music, youthquake was resurrected this year to be used in a new context.
‘Youthquake may not seem like the most obvious choice for Word of the Year, and it’s true that it’s yet to land firmly on American soil, but strong evidence in the UK calls it out as a word on the move,’ says Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Dictionaries. In a dedicated blog post, Grathwohl notes, ‘We chose youthquake based on its evidence and linguistic interest. But most importantly for me, at a time when our language is reflecting our deepening unrest and exhausted nerves, it is a rare political word that sounds a hopeful note. Sometimes you pick a word as the Word of the Year because you recognize that it has arrived, but other times you pick one that is knocking at the door and you want to help usher it in.. This past year calls for a word we can all rally behind.’
To see the Word of the Year shortlist click here.
