The Latest Trends in the English Language

Many businesses looking to add chat features to their websites have understood the benefits of chatbot software. If you are someone that is looking at adding this feature, the great thing about chatbots is that they are constantly learning. They say the best way to build a relationship with someone when you are communicating is to mirror them subconsciously, in terms of expressions and gestures. Therefore, if we want to start building that bridge toward a customer, we should start to mirror them in the language they use.

The great thing about the English language is that it is constantly evolving. The last 20 years have seen the biggest increase in words in the Oxford English Dictionary, so it might be a good idea to show you some of these trends.

Abbreviations

Language purists are never keen on having abbreviations in the dictionary, but the additions of “ICYMI” (in case you missed it) and “FWIW” (for what it’s worth) made it into the Merriam-Webster dictionary in 2020. 2020 was an interesting year because there were pandemic terms that naturally found their way into the dictionary; while the impact of COVID had a bearing on the words that went into the dictionary such as “sub variant” or “booster dose,” there have been a few other trends that have come into the dictionary.

Slang

Slang is an approach that may surprise many people, but words like “sus,” short for suspect or suspicious and cray, short for crazy (as in “cray cray”) are things that may surprise a number of people who expect their words to be formal, but let’s face it, the dictionary is no longer as “cheugy” (no longer regarded as cool or fashionable) as when it was first collated by Samuel Johnson.

Mashups

Rather than being a new phenomenon, mashup words are something that has continued to evolve over many hundreds of years. Mashup words, formally known as a portmanteau, has been a mainstay of the dictionary for centuries, with words like “electrocute” and even “goodbye” both being mashup words. Mashup words are an amazing way to create something brand new with one of the latest being the term “sharenting,” meaning “the action of sharing the responsibilities of being a child's parent or caregiver.”

Two-Word Entries

The dictionary is not just home to single words, but an abundance of two-word entries, with or without hyphens, have been added, including the term “dinosaur hunter,” “vaccine passport,” and even “what’s up, doc?,” a rare three-word entry!

Words can be a fantastic way for you to add something extra to your customer conversations. For anybody that's looking to make their chat feature a lot more human, it's important to have the right lexicon of terms. Having a variety of contemporary expressions appear within your online chat can make a difference in how you appear to people. While you may not want to use slang terms or overload your convos with them, it's definitely worth understanding that the English language is a continually evolving presence.