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English belongs to everyone and no one. It may be the language you speak, the one you\u2019re reading now, but it\u2019s not yours. Not exclusively. That may seem obvious, yet it\u2019s often hard to accept. After all, you\u2019ve worked hard to master it. At school you recited its rules, but don\u2019t imagine you hold the power of veto.<\/p>\n
Harsh, yet that\u2019s how I felt like replying to the flood of recent emails, most lamenting the crowning of \u201ccozzie livs\u201d, the Macquarie Dictionary\u2019s Word of the Year. Cozzie livs \u2013 short for the cost of living \u2013 seemed the last straw for many, as if the barbarians had seized the citadel.<\/p>\n
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Cozzie livs or cozzie dies? The Macquarie\u2019s choice for Word of the Year proved contentious.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>iStock<\/cite><\/p>\n Curmudgeon, one chatroom avatar, embodied the larger of two camps, saying, \u201cWhat an appalling statement on current trends in English if such a cringeworthy term can even be considered as word of the year. If that\u2019s the zeitgeist, and something as horrendous as delulu [deluded] can even exist, let alone be in consideration, then my word of the year is \u2018harrumph\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Don\u2019t get me wrong. I love Curmudgeon\u2019s zeal for English, which I share. This column has been fuelled on it. Likewise, I can side with Curmudgeon\u2019s exasperation, since at times I wish teens would shed their like-twitch, or politicians stop saying \u201cmoving forward\u201d, or TV reporters leave \u201cnow\u201d at home, yet the discourse hurtles ahead despite my couch gripes, this weekly soapbox shtick.<\/p>\n Since language is alluvial \u2013 we know that. Its databanks shift with generational tides. Goodbye rad; hello slay. Memes and headlines, fashion and catastrophe \u2013 each brings their linguistic influence to bear. Ooroo booyah; g\u2019day cozzie livs. For a language to live, it must flex. For English to be everything we need, the flux must be constant.<\/p>\n None of which demands your approval, but it is why a TikTok-boosted catchcry persuaded the Macquarie panel this year. Better still, the expression adds a degree of downplayed humour to a grim fiscal squeeze, a humour in which Australians have always excelled.<\/p>\n Our dictionary teems with historic examples, from ANZAC humour (where \u201cpickled monkey\u201d and \u201cpotted dog\u201d labelled the ration tins) to the dark wit of \u201cshark biscuit\u201d (body surfer), the handy oxymoron of \u201cyeah-nah\u201d, the downsized menu of \u201cparmi\u201d, \u201csmashed avo\u201d and a \u201cballsy cab sav\u201d. Imagine the outcry of your ancestors when each of these heresies found traction in their day. The harrumphing!<\/p>\n Bringing us back to the online comments, as I suggested the responses fell into two camps. Stirring the possum for Gen Z, Tom said, \u201cIf some of these words are new to you, I\u2019ve got a cold hard fact: get used to it. It\u2019s Gen Z and Millennials who have influenced many of these [listed] words. So buckle up cos we ain\u2019t finished!\u201d<\/p>\n Again, I adore the energy. The sass. Plus Tom\u2019s misplaced assuredness of owning English\u2019s future, which is how we should all feel when lent control of the console. Like it or lump it, younger speakers are the real agents of change, for a heartbeat at least, mutineers with new agendas and maverick dialects, until they\u2019re left wondering how the hell did Slang X or Abbrev Y win the 2043 Word of the Year. Just you wait.<\/p>\n Cozzie livs, in fact, prompted one editor on these pages to write to me: \u201cLots of fury around cozzie livs! (more than the actual crisis, it seems).\u201d Bittersweet, but true. English speakers are fierce in their love for English, perhaps a little more than their love for other English speakers.<\/p>\n To read more from<\/b> Spectrum<\/i><\/b>, visit our page here.<\/b><\/p>\n The Booklist is a weekly newsletter for book lovers from books editor Jason Steger. <\/i><\/b>Get it delivered every Friday<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nMost Viewed in Culture<\/h2>\n
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