Gretchen McCulloch, an internet linguist and author of the bestseller "Because Internet," joins the discussion on how 2020 reshaped language. The podcast dives into the evolution of words emerging during the pandemic, from 'social distancing' to 'infodemic.' They explore the cultural significance of terms like 'BIPOC' and 'cancel culture,' as well as the shifting meanings of slang like 'simp.' McCulloch highlights how language constructed during crises reflects societal dynamics, affecting both digital and physical social spaces.
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insights INSIGHT
Word of the Year as Marketing
The Oxford English Dictionary's choice to not pick a word of the year is a marketing ploy.
Dictionaries each want unique words to increase their own relevance.
insights INSIGHT
Zoomers
The term "Zoomer" for Gen Z, like "Boomer," gained prominence due to the pandemic's online shift.
Future generations might assume Zoom was the automatic namesake for Gen Z.
insights INSIGHT
Fomites and Masks
Scientific terms like "fomite" entered mainstream vocabulary due to the pandemic.
Pre-pandemic, Google searches for "mask" yielded beauty mask results; now, they primarily show protective masks.
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How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries
Safi Bahcall
Loonshots by Safi Bahcall offers a new perspective on innovation by applying the science of phase transitions to team behavior. It highlights how small structural changes can significantly impact a team's ability to innovate. The book provides practical lessons for creatives and entrepreneurs to foster groundbreaking ideas, using examples from history and industry.
Because Internet
Understanding the New Rules of Language
Gretchen McCulloch
In 'Because Internet,' Gretchen McCulloch delves into the ways the internet has influenced language, from the development of texting and memes to the use of emojis and emoticons. The book examines how internet conversations are structured by the shape of our apps and platforms, and how social media acts as a laboratory for unedited and unfiltered language. McCulloch discusses how our online interactions reveal aspects of our identities and how language evolves quickly through online communities. She also explores the historical context of internet language, including the different generations of internet users and their unique linguistic styles[2][3][5].
"In a year that left us speechless, 2020 has been filled with new words unlike any other”... so it's unprecedented that for the first time, the Oxford English Dictionary did NOT name a word of the year. But do we really need the dictionaries to tell us what our words of the year are? Especially if the approaches "Big Word" takes may be based on more lagging vs. leading indicators; after all, language is created and constructed as we go.
And yet. People want the dictionary to give them permission of "tell me what the words are", observes internet linguist (and author of the NYT bestselling book Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language) Gretchen McCulloch. No! We, the people, decide what the words are!! So in this special holiday, end-of-year episode, a16z Podcast showrunner Sonal Chokshi chats with McCulloch about the words of the year in and beyond Oxford's "Words of an Unprecedented Year" report -- and importantly, the tech shifts and cultural shifts behind them.
From remote work portmanteaus to scientific discourse in a pandemic (for better and for worse) to social movements and more -- we take a whirlwind tour through the words of the year, exploring misplaced analogies, shifting metaphors, and even the evolution of interfaces. We dip into the settling of the "Zoomer" generation and "moonshots"; dive into the need for "third places" and parties; debate Dunbar numbers for conversations, and the trend of "proximity chat" -- and discuss the meta story of language, and of writing itself. The English language may have resulted from network effects involving the "loners" who introduce words, and the “leaders” who spread them; but writing is a technology that spreads with the tools, going well beyond medium/message, connecting us across time and place and online spaces.
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