"Major changes unseen in a century" and "Awakening Age" made Gen Z "broken"...Many annual hot word lists have been released one after another
High-spirited and kind-hearted has become the "emoji of the times" in this year's buzzwords
■The hot words of the year reflect the values precipitated in the language, and are also a "barometer" for observing social trends and cultural ecology, with a distinctive brand of the times and intergenerational memories.
Behind the “sweeping screen-level” Internet hot words that deeply infiltrate the life of the masses, the narrative of home and country becomes a bright background, which shows that young people are using their own methods to record the “highlight moments” of participating in social life, thereby activating in the intersection of texts Emotional resonance
■When more individual narratives are embedded in national narratives, self-expression is integrated with the spirit of the times, buzzwords become one of the carriers of positive energy, vividly expressing and highlighting the unique "Chinese-style romance"
■Our reporter Xu Yang
Gain insight into the annual facial expressions of our time and feel the pulse of social development-near the end of the year, domestic and foreign lists of popular words and "Top Ten Internet Terms" will be launched one after another at home and abroad.
After sorting it out, it is not difficult to find that many hot words such as "Awakening Age", "Breaking Defense", "Strong Country, I" and so on are closely related to family and country sentiments and cultural self-confidence.
These buzzwords condensed the hot topics of the year, the records show the evolution of the expression habits of contemporary young people, and the "epoch expressions" behind them are vigorous and kind, linking a rich and rich emotional map.
Whether it’s yesterday’s "Ben Wen Che Zi" announced the top ten buzzwords of 2021, leading the "big change unseen in a century"; or not long ago, the National Language Resources Monitoring and Research Center released the "2021 Top 10 Internet Terms" and "Annual Recommended Words", Bilibili announced its annual barrage, and the word "Broken Defense" was extremely active, sweeping multiple lists.
"The hot words of the year reflect the values deposited in the language, and are also a'barometer' for observing social trends and cultural ecology, with a distinctive imprint of the times and intergenerational memories." said Ni Wenjian, associate professor of the Chinese Department of East China Normal University , Behind the “sweeping screen-level” Internet hot words that deeply infiltrate the life of the masses, the narrative of home and country has become a bright background, showing that young people are using their own methods to record the “highlight moments” of participating in social life, thus in the textual convergence Activate emotional resonance.
As the changing speed of buzzwords accelerates, some scholars have also reminded that the use of buzzwords should be vigilant against exaggeration, labelling and superficiality.
Many list producers have stated that while reflecting the characteristics of the times, seeking a balance between "sociological value" and "linguistic value" is also the characteristic of the annual buzzword.
Condensing the mirror image of the era, glancing at the social changes under the Chinese perspective
As a product of the times, buzzwords reflect the issues, things and phenomena that society is generally concerned about, and record the changes in social development.
When individual emotions are gathered together through hot words, it objectively marks the mental flow of the entire society.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. A number of "hot words" have appeared in the social language life, reflecting the great cause, achievements, and courage demonstrated by the Communist Party of China over the past century.
For example, "Chinese Inventory 2021" recommended words through monitoring of language resources such as video barrage, online forums, news, etc., high-frequency vocabulary evaluated include the great achievements of the "100 Years of the Founding of the Party", which is exciting, and the beginning of the "14th Five-Year Plan" spreads out "village". "Revitalize" the magnificent picture scroll, "vaccination" builds a strong line of defense... In the selection of the Shanghai "Ben Wen Che Zi" magazine, "Major changes unseen in a century" is a grand judgment on the general development of the world, and it is also a strategic choice for China in the future. The premise is established; "well-off" carries the connotation of the new era and is radiated with new vitality; "rushing to the exam" shows the Chinese Communists' attitude of overcoming obstacles and constantly creating the future through exploration.
Each word and word vividly extract the social changes and the world under the Chinese vision.
Take the "Awakening Age" selected as one of the "Top Ten Internet Terms of the Year" as an example.
This work, for the first time in the form of a TV series, traces the birth and founding process of the Communist Party of China, vividly reproduces the great changes in Chinese modern history, tells how the Chinese people chose the Communist Party of China, and became a hot spot for fans to watch and discuss after it was broadcast. Vivid textbook for party history learning and education.
What people read from the "age of awakening" is not only a review of the struggle of the revolutionary predecessors, but also the spiritual connection and conscious inheritance of the red gene.
In addition, "Strengthen the country and me" and "YYDS" also conveyed the trend of the times for goodness-"please rest assured that the party is strong, and the country is me." It demonstrates the ambition, backbone, and confidence of Chinese youth in the new era, and embodies the responsibility and belief of Chinese youth. At the Tokyo Olympics, Chinese athletes fought bravely, allowing netizens to scan the "YYDS" one after another, cheering for the athletes and proud of the motherland.
Just as the book reviewer Han Xiaoqiao said, when more individual narratives are embedded in national narratives, self-expression and the spirit of the times merge, buzzwords become one of the carriers of positive energy, vividly expressing and highlighting the unique "Chinese romance".
Internet language enters the mainstream expression, youth culture and family and country narratives "break the circle" empathy
In the era of mobile Internet + video social interaction, bullet screens, public account messages, comments, etc. are becoming more and more integrated into the mainstream expression context, becoming a new way for young people to interact with society, express themselves, and weave the network landscape.
Not long ago, when the total number of barrage at station B exceeded 10 billion, "Broken the defense" came to the fore out of the barrage of 2021, and became the topic word that best represented the mood and resonance of station B users this year.
In the opinion of Sun Ping, deputy director of the Institute of Journalism and Communication of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, "Breaking the defense" allows us to see the strong empathy of contemporary young people, and the resonance of youth culture and the narrative of home and country "breaks the circle".
Some scholars have pointed out that the rapid change of language usage habits reflected by buzzwords and the flexible update of word-making and stalking have given the "web ecology" language a creative vitality. They are no longer the patents of the original "surfing" masters, or are restricted. The "marginal discourse" of the small circle has become a language shared, shared, and shared by the public online and offline.
Take "Broken Defense" as an example. This proprietary term derived from "skills broken and defense broken" in online games is increasingly being used by netizens in the context of the Internet as a metaphor for "the psychological defense is broken, and the inner heart is broken. Shocked by the touch."
From the launch of Shenzhou 13 to more and more post-00s winning the laurels in the Tokyo Olympics, in major events and important moments, the sentence "breaks the defense" makes social events and individual feelings closely connected, and they become a wave of waves. Emotional wave.
"Broken the defense" out of the circle, to a certain extent, also signifies that the network language used for the youth culture is being connected with the feelings of the family and the country at the same frequency. The resulting cross-level discussion creates an eclectic discourse scene. .
"Vaccine" search volume increased by 601% year-on-year, global common topics reshaping language ecology
Whether it is the Oxford English Dictionary in the United Kingdom or the Webster's Dictionary in the United States, authoritative dictionaries in the English world this year have coincidentally given the 2021 vocabulary to a medical term-"vaccine."
When the global epidemic is in an environment of uncertainty, this small-scale vocabulary has reshaped the ecology of daily language, and is also a vivid footnote when the community of human destiny faces common challenges.
"The word was selected based on query data, significant peaks, and year-on-year growth in search volume. This word has two parallel but overlapping stories: one is a medical story, and the other is a political or cultural story." Webster’s Dictionary "Special editor Peter Sokolowski said.
On the Webster’s Dictionary website alone, the number of searches for the term “vaccine” has increased by 601% over 2020, especially in the second half of 2020.
Compared with 2019, the number of website queries this year has increased by 1048%.
Due to the widespread dissemination of "vaccine" in parts of the world, as well as major news about policies, approvals, and vaccination rates, searches for "vaccine" jumped 535%.
Coincidentally, the British "Oxford English Dictionary" editing team also found that the frequency of vocabulary related to vaccines has soared in 2021, including double-vaxxed (meaning two doses of vaccination) and unvaxxed (meaning not vaccinated) in the "same series" of vax. Related terms such as vaccine) and anti-vaxxer (meaning anti-vaccine person) are also rising simultaneously.
As Sokolovsky said, “In times of controversy or uncertainty, there is a neutral and objective arbitrator, and that is the dictionary. This is why we continue to make changes to ensure that our dictionary is Accurate. This also means the existence of a constant." This may also indicate the key reason why the annual buzzword has attracted widespread attention.