THE American Dialect Society (ADS) chose “subprime” as the Word of the Year 2007 in its 18th annual words of the year vote in early January 2008. “Subprime” was also the winner in the brand-new category for real estate words, which reflected the preoccupation of the press and public over the past year with a deepening mortgage crisis.
About 80 members of the ADS spent two days debating the merits of other words like “Facebook”“green”“Googleganger” and “waterboarding” before voting for “subprime,” an adjective used to describe a risky or less than ideal loan, mortgage or investment. The subprime mortgage crisis, an US domestic economic problem, has plagued the world’s capital markets and become a global issue. “‘Subprime’ has been around with bankers for a while, but now everyone is talking about it. It’s affecting all kinds of people in all kinds of places,” said Wayne Glowka, chairman of the New Words Committee of the ADS.
As for the word itself, the linguists say it is an odd word. The prefix “sub” translates roughly to “below the standard” while “prime” means something close to “the best.” Thus it really means “far below the best.”
Other terms nominated included “waterboarding” — an interrogation technique in which the subject is immobilized and doused with water to simulate drowning — and “Googleganger” — a person with the same name as you who shows up when you Google (search for) yourself, which won the 2007 “Most Creative” category. “Facebook,” a social utility that connects one with the people around him/her, was popular with younger linguists. Several people voted for “green,” which “designates environmental concern.” The word finally topped the 2007 “Most Useful” category.
Founded in 1889, the ADS studies the English language in North America as well as other languages or dialects of other languages. The words-of-the-year vote conducted by American top linguists, grammarians and lexicographers, sheds light on trends in language change by directing attention to interesting words and phrases that are produced or popularized by important events of the past year. The ADS began choosing words of the year in 1990. The Word of the Year 2006 is “plutoed,” which means “to be demoted or devalued.”
