My dictionary 2023 | The Press

Every year, new words appear in the dictionary, which reflect not the past 12 months, but the spirit of the times. Because we can well imagine them, these committees responsible for tracking down words, fussy, weighing the pros and cons, comparing the weight of words.

In fact, the words authorized this year have already been in our vocabulary for half a decade: misgender, complosphere, ghoster, to name but a few. Little Robert. The ones that interest me the most are those that start to percolate in the media, in conversations, in the speeches of the authorities, until they snowball. They interfere in our news bulletins, our broadcasts, our discussions, falling from the sky one day and unavoidable the next week. However, they sketch a polaroid, a constellation: that of our obsessions, our fears, our real concerns for 2023.

Here, in bulk, are around fifteen of these words and expressions which have defined, in my opinion, the contours of the past year.

Debate : stillborn television genre, in Quebec. Semantic coquetry of society which fuels soft consensus. Occasionally, attempts are made to resuscitate him. Stéphan Bureau was the most recent sacrifice on his altar. Not to be confused with the similar debate – obstinacy in a sporting mode between commentators specializing in the Israel-Hamas war, mobility and the Dashing Cowboys.

Vulnerable : new attribute of the current world. For example: customers, community, children, vulnerable seniors. Vulnerability can be economic, social, familial, psychological, educational. She has no limits. She has a broad back. Everything that is labeled vulnerable has associations, dedicated specialists, and released budgets. Vulnerability is in the same semantic category as fragility, and flirts a bit with victimology.

Inflation : economic movement by which food banks are experiencing an unprecedented growth boom, while grocers are taken aback by the scale of their profits.

In the background : language tic that invades everything, propelled by millennials, but not only that. Way of announcing that we are going to treat the subject superficially.

Homelessness situation : extraordinary sensor of the spirit of the times. Formerly beggar, then homeless, homeless, itinerant, he or she is today a person experiencing homelessness. We can measure the progression of the technicalization of the question and the bureaucratic positivism contained in the expression. It’s temporary, programs and adequate measures will resolve the problem, even if the number of said people explodes across the territory. The problem is not the victim of homelessness, but the system. Homelessness situation sounds like a file being studied at a consultation table, the subject of a quadripartite committee. Afterwards, we are surprised that libraries are banned from individuals who “feel”… Normal: we are no longer talking about human beings to be accepted, but about “people experiencing homelessness”. The dehumanization job has been done.

Procrastination : synonymous with ecology or concrete action against climate change.

Gratitude : “I say thank you to life! I accept what she gives me! » Slightly hypocritical little sister of kindness.

It has it : widely used popular phrase, but which made its official entry into news bulletins and information broadcasts in 2023. This is a repetition which suggests that the masses are hard to understand. “It looks” is too dry, the “it has it” is more supple, more runny, more soft, therefore, no more of us. In the same semantic family as tu-tu. For example: “Are you going to say it, that sounds crazy? »

Toxic : often attached to words climate And masculinity. Become an untouchable expression, which is not questioned. Where does the toxicity start, how far does it extend? Toxicity is an ideological marker that demonizes everything it describes. Once something is said to be toxic, it is difficult to decontaminate.

Flexibility : contortion that we ask of someone who is already genuflecting. A lot is demanded of health care workers. Also called “flexibility”.

Mobility : very stable, even immobile concept. Gentrified word to talk about traffic, a hated term that smells of gas and the orange cone. Doesn’t mean anything on its own: in 2023, all mobility must be sustainable. It’s virtue made into a cycle path.

Authentic : truer than true. In the era of fake news, from ChatGPT, from “faux-mage”, from virtuous imitations to illegal pastiches, authenticity is rare, and all the more glorified. Authentic sounds better than “real.” It is a certificate of credibility, a guarantee of probity. Authenticity is also often self-proclaimed…

Telework : time a worker spends at home finding new definitions of productivity. Responsible for the increase in the number of searches on the meaning of the word procrastination.

Fat : not new, but it has become firmly embedded in the language. Big issues, file, big party, decorations, problems. As much grossophobia reigns, as much as “big” kills all its synonyms: important, priority, big, major, serious, etc. The bigger a file, the more we feel that we will cut corners. Big is also a familiar greeting in the “ODesque” world.

And let’s finish with Christmas : unofficial start of winter. Some proclaim his name militantly, others maintain that they are forbidden from saying it. It’s the children who are right: Christmas is a magic marker of time.

I wish you it soft, snowy, magical, full of sharing and beauty.

See you in January. Merry Christmas !

By the way, what are YOUR words for 2023?