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Musings

1/6/2014 3 Comments

The 2013 Word of the Year

American Dialect Society
On January 3, the American Dialect Society announced 'because' as the 2013 Word of the Year. In a statement issued earlier this week, the Society acknowledged that 'because' is increasingly used to introduce a noun or adjective rather than a full clause. In other words, the American Dialect Society is putting its stamp of approval on phrases such as 'because boundaries' or 'because awesome!'
​Founded in 1889, the American Dialect Society is dedicated to the study of the English language in North America together with other languages or dialects of other languages influencing it or influenced by it. For the last 24 years, the Society has selected a Word of the Year from the countless words or phrases nominated for the honor. To be selected as the Word of the Year, a word or phrase must be new or newly popular that year, widely or prominently used, and indicative or reflective of the popular discourse.

“This past year, the very old word 'because' exploded with new grammatical possibilities in informal online use,” said Ben Zimmer, the chair of the dialect society's new words committee. “No longer does 'because' have to be followed by 'of' or a full clause. Now one often sees tersely worded rationales like ‘because science’ or ‘because reasons.’ You might not go to a party ‘because tired.’ As one supporter put it, 'because' should be Word of the Year ‘because useful!’”

I'm not sure when that became a viable rationale, but given the nature of the argument, I'll end with my argument that 'because' should not be the Word of the Year:

Because grammar.
3 Comments
Judith A. Ross link
1/6/2014 03:23:44 am

yes!

Reply
John Bragg
1/6/2014 06:10:51 am

I was about to say I think ADS and Erica are missing something, that every time I've heard or seen "Y because X" it has carried the impication that X is not actually a well thought out set of reasons for Y.
Ex. Ginseng makes her hair softer because Science.
Ex. They argued over what kind of cookie was tastier, and then started brawling, because pro wrestling.
Then I thought that maybe it was just the genres I follow being prone to being stupid in the service of genre. But urbandictionary mostly backs me up.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php...
So my point is, "because X" isn't just a construction of grammatical laziness, it carries a different connotation than "because of X."

But hey, the American Dialect Society must know what they're doing, because PhDs.

Reply
Erica Holthausen link
1/6/2014 06:25:29 am

I agree with you in part, John. I do think the connotation is quite a bit different than the more traditional use of the word 'because.' This construction is much more dismissive. It doesn't bother to actually make a case, nor does it invite further conversation.

My real issue is that the ADS, an organization that has existed for over 100 years and that is perceived as an expert in the use of the English language, would give this particular construction its seal of approval. Whether you consider it fun and sassy or irritating and obnoxious, there is one thing it is not: grammatically correct.

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    ​Erica Holthausen grew up on a small family farm in New England. As a child, she could often be found in the branches of an old maple tree absorbed in a book. Not much has changed. Today she sits in her grandfather's old chair reading, writes in one of her many half-started journals, and browses the shelves at her favorite local independent bookseller. She lives in Newburyport, Massachusetts, with her cat, The Artful Dodger, and is currently working on several personal essays and her first novel.

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