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Merriam-Webster: "Polarization," the word of the year 2024

2024-12-09 17:50:46, Kuriozitete CNA

The results of this year's presidential election in the United States were a shock to one part of the country and the world, while for the rest a reason to celebrate. So perhaps it's no surprise that the word of the year chosen by the editors of the Merriam-Webster dictionary is the word "polarization." According to experts, this is a word with many scientific and metaphorical meanings, which this year has mostly been used to highlight the strong disagreements between the two rival political groups in the United States.

Words of the year, chosen by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, are usually used to reflect one of the major events of the year. For example, this year's election in the United States was so divisive that many American voters went to the polls feeling that the rival candidate was an existential threat to the country.

"The Merriam-Webster word of the year for 2024 is polarization. Clearly, this was an important election year and this issue has dominated this year. "The word polarization is a term that's been thrown around," says Merriam-Webster dictionary editor Peter Sokolowski.

According to an Associated Press poll of more than 120,000 voters, about 8 in 10 voters who voted for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris were very or somewhat concerned that Republican Donald Trump's views were too extreme, while about 7 in 10 voters who supported Mr. Trump had the same opinion about Ms. Harris.

Merriam-Webster: "Polarization," the word of the year 2024

In the Merriam-Webster dictionary the word "polarization" has both scientific and metaphorical definitions. It is most often used to emphasize "strong disagreements between opposing factions or groups". The American company Merriam-Webster, which receives 100 million clicks a month on its website, chooses the word of the year based on data, observing the growth of searches and its use.

Last year's choice was the word "authentic". This year's speech comes at a time when much of the population is struggling to reach consensus on what is authentic.

"I think the dictionary is kind of a platform for word meaning in an age of fake news and alternative facts, where you can say what you want about the meaning value of a word. At least the dictionary can measure the meaning of a word in a way very specific to everyone," says Peter Sokolowski, editor of Merriam-Webster's American dictionary.

The word "polarization" began to be used in the 1800s, not during the Renaissance era, as was the case with most scientific words of Latin origin, Mr. Sokolowski says. One of the scientific uses, according to him, has to do with electricity, which works with two opposite poles.

The editor of the Merriam-Webster dictionary says that this is a "fairly new word" in the context of the English language. He adds that the word "polarized" gives intensity to another word and in the United States is used more often to describe race relations, politics and ideology./ VOA