What is the Phrase? November Version

Hey language learners! It’s virtually December… How did that occur?! We swear we have been ringing within the new yr a couple of weeks in the past. Anyway, they are saying time flies whenever you’re having enjoyable, and we hope you’ve had a brilliant enjoyable yr of studying with Memrise! On this November Publication, we’re bringing you extra nuggets of cultural and linguistic information from world wide. We’ll take a look at the methods wherein TikTok is altering modern-day language, Cambridge Dictionary’s recently-revealed (and mildly controversial) Phrase of the Yr, and a cool new multilingual Netflix present for language geeks. Let’s soar proper in!

Is TikTok altering the way in which we communicate?

Have you ever ever watched a video on social media and observed {that a} phrase within the caption has been changed with a similar-sounding phrase? Though these will be mistaken for typos, some social media customers are having to deliberately misspell or substitute phrases to make sure that their movies aren’t eliminated below strict moderation guidelines on in style platforms. And this new kind of language even has a reputation: algospeak. So what are some frequent examples of those artistic, algorithm-combatting options? You may need seen the phrase ‘pandemic’ changed with the similar-sounding ‘panoramic’ lately, or the phrase ‘intercourse’ changed by the made up phrase ‘seggs’. Typically this phenomenon even stretches past phrases, with fruit emojis used instead of the phrase ‘queer’ and different synonyms. However will this language truly seep into the way in which we communicate in actual life? This stays to be seen… Though the necessity for algospeak could also be linked to wider points referring to censorship, we do suppose it’s cool to see language being utilized in such playful and artistic methods.

Whereas we’re on the subject of TikTok, have you ever checked out our new classes based mostly on content material made by your favourite influencers? If not, seize your telephone and have a go now!

And the Cambridge Dictionary Phrase of the Yr is…

We’ve a query to ask you: have you ever ever been a Wordle addict? In that case, don’t fear – this weblog is a secure house. The Wordle fanatics amongst us will not be as stunned because the (reasonably smug) ‘non-Wordlers’ to listen to that Cambridge Dictionary has revealed their phrase of the yr to be the 5-letter noun ‘homer’ (and no, we’re not speaking concerning the Simpson’s character or the Greek creator of the Odyssey). On this context, ‘homer’ is a casual phrase taken from US English, which means ‘somebody who scores a home-run in baseball’.

So why did a historic British dictionary select an American phrase, and what on earth does all of this should do with Wordle? Effectively, followers of the every day 5-letter-word guessing sport, which skilled astronomical ranges of recognition in 2022, would possibly do not forget that ‘homer’ was the phrase of the day on Might the fifth this yr. There was uproar as non-American Wordle gamers furiously Googled the phrase’s which means, with Cambridge Dictionary witnessing 75,000 searches within the first week of Might alone. Equally, later within the yr, American English audio system weren’t completely happy when the quintessentially British phrase ‘bloke’ was the Wordle reply in July. No matter number of English you communicate, we will all agree with Cambridge Dictionary that 2022 will probably be remembered as ‘The Yr of Wordle’!

A polyglot efficiency in Netflix’s new drama

That is the proper time of yr to start out a brand new sequence, so we’ve achieved the laborious be just right for you and located the proper new present for us language-lovers. Crammed with thriller and suspense, this one comes from the creators of the smash-hit German sequence Darkish. The new Netflix unique, referred to as 1899, follows a global group of passengers aboard a steamship heading throughout the wild and treacherous Atlantic Ocean to New York. Apart from the nail-biting plot (which we received’t spoil!), what’s distinctive about this new present is {that a} complete of 10 completely different languages are spoken by a multilingual solid! Within the 8-episode sequence, characters soar from English to French to Cantonese to Norwegian, and so forth – it truly is a language geek’s dream! The present’s creators have mentioned that, as an alternative of creating issues straightforward by utilizing one frequent language (prone to be English), they wished to present a voice to different languages which are sometimes underrepresented in in style tradition.

So, earlier than you get caught into watching the complete sequence, we wished to set you slightly problem… Give the trailer a watch and see what number of completely different languages you may spot in simply 2 minutes!

And that’s all for this version of What’s the Phrase? Each month we spherical up a few of the coolest issues which can be occurring world wide and share them with you within the hope they’ll quench your language and common knowledge-seeking thirst just a bit bit. Catch you subsequent time!