The other day, as I was looking through some back issues at the Summerland Review, I noticed once again how much our language and way of writing have changed in recent years.
The news articles and the letters to the editor had a much more formal tone than the writing of today.
Contractions donsa国际传媒檛 show up too often in writing from earlier decades. Today, theysa国际传媒檙e much more common.
Still, one writer I respect today is adamant that contractions shouldnsa国际传媒檛 be used in written English. Theysa国际传媒檙e fine in dialogue, but nowhere else.
I have also read plenty of contemporary fiction and nonfiction where this rule is broken.
The phrase, sa国际传媒渆xcited for,sa国际传媒� doesnsa国际传媒檛 appear in the older newspapers, and I know some writers who avoid it because they believe it should be sa国际传媒渆xcited about.sa国际传媒�
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But others, especially entertainment writers, have no qualms about sa国际传媒渆xcited for.sa国际传媒�
Words like sa国际传媒渄atasa国际传媒� and sa国际传媒減lansa国际传媒� were around in the 1920s, but the term sa国际传媒渄ata plansa国际传媒� is something much more recent, describing something that did not exist until quite recently.
Policeman and fireman were common in past decades, but today those words sound archaic. Now we have police officers and firefighters. We also have councillors instead of aldermen.
Even the use of slurs and obscenities has been changing. Some terms, once uttered freely, are no longer spoken, while words once considered offensive can be heard everywhere, and are even finding their way into print.
Each year, when linguists and lexicographers announce their choice for the word of the year, writers will take notice.
Recently, the use of the word sa国际传媒渢heysa国际传媒� came into the conversation as the editors of Merriam-Webster listed it as their word of the year for 2019.
It has become used as an inclusive way to refer to people without making reference to gender.
The word, particularly sa国际传媒渢heysa国际传媒� as a singular term, attracted a lot of attention during the past year.
But this isnsa国际传媒檛 the first time the singular sa国际传媒渢heysa国际传媒� has received attention.
In 2015, the American Dialect Association selected sa国际传媒渢heysa国际传媒� as their word of the year, since it was coming into use by some who do not use sa国际传媒渉esa国际传媒� or sa国际传媒渟hesa国际传媒� as their pronouns of choice.
I have heard the singular sa国际传媒渢heysa国际传媒� since the early 1980s, and for many years, the Canadian Press Stylebook sa国际传媒� the style guide used by most English-language newspapers in Canada sa国际传媒� has allowed sa国际传媒渢heysa国际传媒� as a singular word, but only if there is no other reasonable way to structure a sentence.
The style guide also notes that the singular use of they is increasingly accepted.
Still, quite a few writers believe sa国际传媒渢heysa国际传媒� must always refer to groups of people, never just one person.
However, not all linguists and lexicographers identified sa国际传媒渢heysa国际传媒� as their word of choice last year.
The people at Oxford Dictionaries chose sa国际传媒渃limate emergencysa国际传媒� as their term for 2019.
The term was prominent over the past year. It reflects a shift in dialogue about climate-related discussions.
By the end of this year, Merriam-Webster, Oxford Dictionaries and other organizations will likely select different terms as their word or phrase of the year.
These designations are important because the English language is changing and evolving. New words and changes in meaning are signs that our language is a vibrant and living language, adapting to the needs of its speakers.
I wonsa国际传媒檛 say Isa国际传媒檓 excited for the choices of sa国际传媒渢heysa国际传媒� and sa国际传媒渃limate emergencysa国际传媒� as words of the year, but thatsa国际传媒檚 only because I dislike the phrase, sa国际传媒渆xcited for.sa国际传媒�
However, I will take note when a new word of phrase enters our lexicon, or when the meaning or usage of a familiar word begins to change.
After all, I need to watch my language.
John Arendt is the editor of the Summerland Review.
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