Language Museum Blog

Following my earlier post about the relative merits of unfriend or defriend, I thought it may be interesting to look at the other words on the shortlist for 2009 Word of the Year. Honestly, I’ve never heard of most of them, which means I’m either behind the times or they’ve made these up! Here are some of my favourites.

intexticated – distracted because texting on a cellphone while driving a vehicle

funemployed – taking advantage of one’s newly unemployed status to have fun or pursue other interests

zombie bank – a financial institution whose liabilities are greater than its assets, but which continues to operate because of government support

I love the term ‘zombie bank’ for the imagery it invokes – imagine going in to your local branch to be confronted with zombie staff! Based on the criteria for WotY though, I think my winner has to be netbook. It’s not flashy and it’s not fashionable, but I think netbook may stand the test of time.

What’s your favourite word on the list?

I do love announcements of new words, especially when they cause a debate.

The New Oxford American Dictionary has pronounced ‘unfriend’ its 2009 Word of the Year. All well and good… except I, along with many others, thought the term was ‘defriend’.

The official definition: unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook.

Whilst I agree with the definition, I prefer ‘defriend’ – it rolls off the tongue better, don’t you think? And it sounds nicer – unfriend is short for unfriendly after all.

I’m not alone in preferring ‘defriend’ – New York Magazine agrees with me, and even went so far as to ask Facebook which term they prefer (they don’t mind).

Do you prefer to unfriend or defriend?