Postcard from Bishkek

As we come to the end of the year it is time to look back over the last twelve months and reflect and what has happened, recognizing achievements … and also what could have been.

This year in particular, I was intrigued by a couple of announcements from the Oxford English Dictionary:

I was born in 1953 … and, according to the Dictionary, so was the term “frenemy” – “A person with whom one is friendly, despite a fundamental dislike or rivalry; a person who combines the characteristics of a friend and an enemy“.

The interactive tool that it posted on its blog entry allows surfers to look up words that appeared in the years 1900 to 2004.       

Apparently it first appeared in print in an ariticle by the News Commentator Walter Winchell in the Nevada State Journal on 19th May, 1953 … when he wrote: ”Howz about calling the Russians our Frienemies?” (note the spelling – apparently it’s been simplified over the years – as well as the “folksy” tone).

To be honest, I am not sure that it’s a word that I have ever come across before – although I think I approve; it’s the sort of word that in its simplicity conveys a useful concept that speaks to the complexes of the modern world and probably needed to be coined.  It says a bit more than just “friendly rivalries“.

Language is not something which is fixed and constant, never changing.  It is a tool used by people to communicate and evolves to meet new circumstances: words are adapted over the course of time – changing their meaning and whilst some words drop out of use and disappear from the lexicon except for academic interest, new words are being introduced.

Each year the Dictionary adds new words to its database of words … this year, for example, almost a hundred words were added – and a host of “sub-entries”.  It takes time for words to be admitted to the dictionary after it has been coined … it’s a question of usage … if someone coins a word that no one else finds useful, then it disappears into obscurity, but if, on the other hand, others find it appropriate and use it, then it becomes a candidate for inclusion in the dictionary.

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This year the Dictionary  declared “selfie” as word of the year – “a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website”.

The Word of the Year award celebrates the inventiveness of English speakers when confronted with social, political or technological change.  To qualify, a word does not need to have been coined within the past 12 months, but it does need to have become prominent or notable in that time.

Selfie is not a new word – it is thought to date back to 2002 when it appeared on social media … nor, for that matter, is it a new phenomenon although social media has obviously given the practice a boost.

Oddly enough, as it happens), the word “selfie” itself doesn’t as yet, actually appear in the dictionary.

The first ever “selfie” may well have been taken by Robert Cornelius, an American pioneer in photography, in 1839. To be fair, it’s more of a portrait for which he would have had to sit for – for some time – as it was a daguerreotype of himself.  Incidentally it also happens to be one of the first ever photographs of a person.

With the introduction of new technologies, photography became easier and there are several historical examples – including one taken by the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia with her Kodak Brownie Camera and catching an image of herself in a mirror; it might well be one of the first ever “teenage self-portraits”.

The arrival of the smartphone – complete with camera and easy internet access to websites such as instagram, facebook and twitter – have made them even easier and more popular … often held at arm’s length and immediately posted on social media.

Personally, I am not sure about the phenomenon … apart from the fact that it seems somewhat it may well be narcissistic and I am not sure that everyone wants to see these photos – or the myriad cat photos that seem to abound … and I have to admit that I have posted a few of those myself.  They do, however, provide a record for posterity and a personal momento … proving that: “I was there!”

The BBC recently posted a short clip about the psychology of taking a selfie, (it lasts just one and a half minutes); you can see it here.

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Selfies have certainly been in the news recently with, for example,  …

• a faked image of Tony Blair taking a “selfie” in front of a burning oil field in Iraq;
• the somewhat controversial “selfie” snapped by Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt standing together with President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron with during the memorial service for Nelson Mandela;
• a twelve year old boy sneaking a “selfie” with Prince Charles during a visit to a Coptic Church in Stevenage before the security contingent could intervene;

… to mention just three examples … but I prefer this one from a few years ago:

 

 

 

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