WASHINGTON — The pronoun "they," used by non-binary people who identify as neither male nor female, was named word of the year by US dictionary Merriam-Webster on Tuesday.
In the English language, more and more people are exercising their right to choose the pronoun by which they are identified, regardless of their sex at birth -- such as "they" instead of "she" or "he."
Two months ago, the dictionary added the word "they" as a non-binary pronoun that can refer to just 1 person.
"There's no doubt that its use is established in the English language, which is why it was added to the Merriam-Webster.com dictionary this past September," the website said, adding that searches for "they" jumped 313 percent in a year.
Nonbinary people are enjoying increased representation on television and in pop culture. Among them is British artist Sam Smith, who recently revealed a preference for "they/them" pronouns "after a lifetime of being at war with my gender."
Tech giant Apple has added "neutral" emojis that don't distinguish between gender to the latest version of its operating system.
Agence France-Presse
"Justice" is what most people sought on Merriam-Webster, among the world's most popular dictionaries, as the US publisher named that principle of being fair as the Word of the Year for 2018.
Users looked up the word 74 percent more often than in 2017, said spokeswoman Meghan Lunghi for the website, which claims to be "America's most trusted dictionary."
The surge was prompted by specific uses of the word such as "obstruction of justice," after US President Donald Trump tweeted in August that Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 election, the company said in a statement.
"It's often familiar words for abstract concepts that are among the most looked up words," said Emily Brewster, associate editor for Merriam-Webster, in the statement.
"When common words like justice are used in contexts that are very specific, technical, or legal, people look them up in the dictionary for the detail and nuance that a definition can provide."
"Justice" joined Dictionary.com's "misinformation" and the Oxford English Dictionary's "toxic" as top words of the year.
Other front-runners for Merriam-Webster's distinction, based on frequency of searches, were "nationalism," "pansexual," "lodestar," "epiphany," "feckless," "laurel," "pissant," "respect," "maverick," and "excelsior."
source: news.abs-cbn.com
