Dictionary.com has chosen 'xenophobia' as its Word of the Year
in keeping with news developments that have resonated deeply in the
cultural consciousness over the last 12 months. According to the
company, many of the most prominent news stories this year have centred
on fear of the 'other' – the Brexit vote, police shootings, Syria's
refugee crisis, transsexual rights, and the US presidential race for
instance.
The word 'xenophobia', which entered the
English language in the late 1800s, finds its roots in two Greek words,
xénos meaning 'stranger, guest', and phóbos meaning 'fear, panic'.
Dictionary.com users' interest in the themes tied to this term were
evident on June 24, 2016, which marked the largest spike in lookups for
xenophobia this year; this was the day after the UK voted to leave the
European Union, a phenomenon also known as Brexit.
Days
after the Brexit vote, the second largest surge in lookups for the term
'xenophobia' came in relation the 2016 US presidential race. On June
29, President Obama gave a speech in which he insisted that Donald
Trump's political rhetoric was not an example of populism, but of
"nativism or xenophobia". Unsurprisingly, the largest spike in lookups
for the term 'populism' in 2016 occurred on June 30 as a result of
Obama's speech.
Xenophobia manifested itself in other
world events over the past year as well. Immigration policies,
especially in regards to Syria's refugee crisis, have been front and
centre in the news worldwide. Because Syria is a majority Muslim
country, many criticise anti-immigration policies as Islamophobic. Users
of Dictionary.com showed interest in the term 'burkini' for the first
time ever this past summer, following legislation in France that was
ultimately overturned to ban burkinis, the full-coverage swimsuits
favoured by many Muslim women.
"Xenophobia and other
words tied to global news and political rhetoric reflected the worldwide
interest in the unfortunate rise of fear of otherness in 2016, making
it the clear choice for Word of the Year," said Liz McMillan,
CEO, Dictionary.com. "While we can never know the exact reasons why
xenophobia trended in our lookups this year, this reflects a desire in
our users to understand the significant discourse surrounding global
events."
"Dictionary.com is right to make xenophobia
the word of the year, but it is also one of the biggest threats we
face," said Robert Reich, Professor at Berkeley's Goldman School of
Public Policy. "It is not a word to be celebrated. It is a sentiment to
be fought."