Linguists Vote 'Truthiness' Word of 2005

[Math Is Hard]

I am going to have to start using this word right away.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060107/ap_on_re_us/word_contest

ALBUQUERQUE - A panel of linguists has decided the word that best reflects 2005 is "truthiness," defined as the quality of stating concepts one wishes or believes to be true, rather than the facts.

The American Dialect Society chose the word Friday after a runoff with terms related to Hurricane Katrina, such as "Katrinagate," the scandal erupting from the lack of planning for the monster hurricane.

Michael Adams, a professor at North Carolina State University who specializes in lexicology, said "truthiness" means "truthy, not facty."

 

[Mk]

I am going to have to start using this word right away.

How truthy, not facty.

 

[Math Is Hard]

How truthy, not facty.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Michael Adams, a professor at North Carolina State University who specializes in lexicology, said "truthiness" means "truthy, not facty."

"The national argument right now is, one, who's got the truth and, two, who's got the facts," he said. "Until we can manage to get the two of them back together again, we're not going make much progress."

A panel of linguists has decided the word that best reflects 2005 is "truthiness," defined as the quality of stating concepts one wishes or believes to be true, rather than the facts.

I find this whole thing to be weird and find it hard to believe authentic linguists would call "stating concepts one wishes or believes to be true" a "quality" rather than something like a behavior or activity. They're referring to an action (stating) as a "quality".

 

[1123581321]

and i find it hard to believe that anyone would sit around and think about what the best word of 2005 is.

 

[Pengwuino]

and i find it hard to believe that anyone would sit around and think about what the best word of 2005 is.

philosophy majors need jobs too

 

[zoobyshoe]

philosophy majors need jobs too

Don't confuse philosophy and philology.

 

[Pengwuino]

Don't confuse philosophy and philology.

I didn't mean to :P I just wanted to poke fun at philosophy majors even if its somewhat unrelated.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I didn't mean to :P I just wanted to poke fun at philosophy majors even if its somewhat unrelated.

Well, I'm all for that.

 

[Math Is Hard]

I find this whole thing to be weird and find it hard to believe authentic linguists would call "stating concepts one wishes or believes to be true" a "quality" rather than something like a behavior or activity. They're referring to an action (stating) as a "quality".

I find that a little confusing, too. Is it the statement that has truthiness or is it the person uttering the statement that has truthiness? I would have initially assumed the former, without seeing it defined, and would have used it like this:

"When the governor proclaimed that the coal miners were found alive, the statement had a truthiness about it."

but I think this example might be more likely the intended usage:

"When the governor proclaimed that the coal miners were found alive, he spoke with truthiness."

But I don't know. What do you think?

 

[Evo]

Oh, NONONONO. Truthiness?

:yuck: :yuck: :yuck: :yuck:

 

[Math Is Hard]

Or maybe it is used this way:

"The truthiness of the governor was a constant annoyance to everyone."

 

[Math Is Hard]

Oh, NONONONO. Truthiness?
:yuck: :yuck: :yuck: :yuck:

:rofl:

I haven't seen HRW around this evening. I dedided to lay out some bait.

 

[zoobyshoe]

But I don't know. What do you think?

I don't know because the definition is so imprecise.

It's not clear to me if these people invented this word themselves to describe what they saw happening, or if this word is actually being used all over the place. To vote it the "Word of the Year" it should be a word that was used especially frequently, among other things, a new fad word. However, they actually seem to be saying it best describes something that was happening alot.

It could be the article was poorly written but I can't tell if that's the problem or if the lexicographers in question are potheads.

 

[honestrosewater]

The American Dialect Society says they first heard it on The Colbert Report:

First heard on the Colbert Report, a satirical mock news show on the Comedy Channel, truthiness refers to the quality of stating concepts or facts one wishes or believes to be true, rather than concepts or facts known to be true. As Stephen Colbert put it, “I don't trust books. They're all fact, no heart.”
- http://www.americandialect.org/Words_of_the_Year_2005.pdf

Heehee.
Their definition sounded a bit strange at first, but it makes sense. -ness attaches to adjectives (truthy) to form nouns (truthiness) meaning roughly the quality, state, or condition of being [adjective]; e.g. goodness is the quality of being good. It's just fun anyway. I say better truthy than truthish. I mean, truthishness? Yikes.

There are more words in that link, BTW. I like crotchfruit (the word, not children. I despise puny things).

 

[Math Is Hard]

That was an interesting read! Who knew this group had been around for so long - although I am a little bit annoyed by the fact that they sometimes allow phrases and even prefixes as "Word of the Year" winners. You'd think they would be sticklers about that sort of thing! They do say this:

Word of the Year is interpreted in its broader sense as “vocabulary item”—not just words but phrases. The words or phrases do not have to be brand new, but they have to be newly prominent or notable in the past year, in the manner of Time magazine’s Person of the Year.

Anyway...some blasts from the past:

2004 Word of the Year: red/blue/purple states, red favoring conservative Republicans and blue favoring liberal Democrats, as well as the undecided purple states in the political map of the United States.

2003 Word of the Year: metrosexual, fashion-conscious heterosexual male.

2002 Word of the Year: weapons of mass destruction or WMD, sought for in Iraq.

2001 Word of the Year: 9-11, 9/11 or September 11, terrorist attacks on that date.

2000 Word of the Year: chad, a small scrap of paper punched from a voting card.

1999 Word of the Year: Y2K.

1998 Word of the Year: prefix e- for “electronic” as in e-mail and newly prominent ecommerce.

1997 Word of the Year: millennium bug, also known as Y2K bug or Y2K problem, that
causes computers to think that the year after 1999 is 1900.

1996 Word of the Year: mom as in soccer mom, newly significant type of voter.

1995 Word of the Year: (tie) World Wide Web on the Internet, and newt, to make
aggressive changes as a newcomer.

1994 Word of the Year: (tie) cyber, pertaining to computers and electronic
communication, and morph, to change form.

1993 Word of the Year: information superhighway, network linking computers,
television, telephone, and other electronic means of communication.

1992 Word of the Year: Not! expression of disagreement.

1991 Word of the Year: mother of all —, greatest, most impressive.

1990 Word of the Year: bushlips, insincere political rhetoric.

 

[Andre]

1991 Word of the Year: mother of all —, greatest, most impressive.

Yes I member, that's the truthiness of Saddam Hussein about the first Gulf War

 

[Math Is Hard]

Yes I member, that's the truthiness of Saddam Hussein about the first Gulf War

He was quite the linguistic trendsetter that year!

In last month's Vanity Fair, "It is what it is" was proposed as the catch-phrase of the decade. I think it stands a good chance - it's certainly proved its versatility!

http://www.vanityfair.com/commentary/content/articles/051205roco03

Five Little Words
From Rumi to Rummy: A Mantra for the 00s
By JIM WINDOLF

'It is what it is" has become the great American catchphrase, a mantra for an uneasy decade. Politicians like the sound of it. Hip-hoppers, businessmen, and movie stars say it all the time. It can be profound or meaningless, depending on the context. Poets use it and so do fools.

Dancer Kevin Federline uttered the phrase to express his love for his wife, Britney Spears, in an episode of the UPN reality show Britney & Kevin: Chaotic. New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez said the same thing to reporters after making a costly error in a playoff game this fall. And Angelina Jolie said it on the Today show, when asked if she minded being branded the "other woman" in the Brad Pitt–Jennifer Aniston split.

Given its flexibility, it sits comfortably on both sides of the political aisle: Al Gore used it to show that he had accepted, to a degree, the fact that he had lost the protracted 2000 presidential election, and on Election Day 2004, George W. Bush reportedly told an aide, "I'm surprised, but it is what it is," when early exit-poll data erroneously suggested a John Kerry win...

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Eh... Fogetabawdit.