December 12, 2007

“w00t” named word of the year by U.S. dictionary

by yogesh

Like they say, we need not bother with American English spellings or the Queens’ English, it’s the next-gen that will dictate how we spell our words. Avid online gamers use the expression “w00t” to express triumph. According to the Massachusetts-based Merriam-Webster Inc. it’s like saying “yay”. They say that “w00t” (spelled with two zeros) reflects the lingo used by the young generation. Visitors to Merriam-Webster’s Web site were invited to vote for one of 20 words and phrases culled from the most frequently looked-up words on the site and submitted by readers. “w00t” was named word of the year. Next in line was the word “facebook”. Facebook means to add someone to a list of friends on the Web site Facebook.com or to search for people on the social networking site.

A separate survey of words used in the media and on the Internet by California-based Global Language Monitor produced a different set of winners. “Hybrid” was the word of the year and “climate change” was the top phrase. “The English language is becoming more and more a globalized language every year,” said Global Language Monitor president Paul Payack, noting that this year’s list included words also culled from India, Singapore, China and Australia.
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