'A word not to be celebrated': 'Xenophobia' declared 2016 word of the year
"Xenophobia" has been declared the 2016 word of the year in the wake of Brexit, Donald Trump's election win and the Syrian refugee crisis.
The word which means to have or show dislike or prejudice against people from other countries, was given the gong by Dictionary.com during a contentious time, aiming to encourage the public to reflect on recent events.
“Despite being chosen as the 2016 Word of the Year, 'Xenophobia' is not to be celebrated. Rather it’s a word to reflect upon deeply in light of the events of the recent past," the company wrote in an announcement blog.
Searches for the word soared around the time of the UK Brexit vote, Syria's refugee crisis and the US presidential race, Dictionary.com lexicographer Jane Solomon said.
The rise of the alt-right, transsexual rights and the decision to ban "burkinis" were also reasons for the spike.
"This year in the United States we saw the rise of the alt-right, white nationalism, and other ideologies that promote hate, especially directed toward Muslims, Latinos, Jews, trans and queer communities, black America, and other non-dominant groups," the blog post read.
"On November 9, the day after the US presidential election, and, according to the Southern Poverty Law Centre, there has been an increase in hate-based incidents since election day."
Dictionary.com has defined xenophobia as “fear or hatred of foreigners, people from different cultures, or strangers".
It further explained that the word should embody “a major theme resonating deeply in the cultural consciousness over the prior 12 months.”
Xenophobia entered the English language in the late 1800s and its roots are formed from the two Greek words, xénos meaning 'stranger, guest', and phóbos meaning 'fear, panic'.
The online Merriam-Webster online dictionary plans to expand its entry to include fear or dislike of "customs, dress and cultures of people with backgrounds different from our own," Ms Solomon said.
The interest was clear June 24, the day of Brexit, when the UK voted to leave the European Union.
Ms Solomon said searches for xenophobia on the site increased by 938 percent from June 22 to June 24,
Lookups spiked again that month after President Obama's June 29 speech in which he insisted that Donald Trump's campaign rhetoric was not a measure of "populism," but rather "nativism, or xenophobia, or worse."
Ms Solomon added that chatter about xenophobia goes well beyond the spikes.
"It has been significant throughout the year," she said.
"But after the EU referendum, hundreds and hundreds of users were looking up the term every hour."
Robert Reich, who was President Clinton's labor secretary, felt so strongly about xenophobia's prominence that he appeared in a video for Dictionary.com discussing its ramifications.
"I don't think most people even know what xenophobia is," Reich, who teaches public policy at the University of California, said.
"It's a word not to be celebrated but to be deeply concerned about."
The site started choosing a word of the year in 2010, based on search data and agreement of in-house experts.
The word and sentiment reflect a broader mournful tone to 2016, with Oxford dictionary editors choosing "post-truth" as their word of the year, often described in terms of politics as belonging to a time in which truth has become irrelevant.
Ms Solomon said she wishes they "could have chosen a word like unicorns".
News break – November 29
