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Load shedding, Phala Phala and xenophobia – Tallying 2022’s word of the year
The winner of Word of the Year 2022 is an all-too familiar part of everyday life for South Africans.
South Africa’s most-used word has just been announced. And its presence is enought to give South Africans a headache. Photo for illustration: iStock
A number of p-words have been on the lips of South Africans this year, but it is the dreaded l-word that made this year’s word of the year.
According to research conducted by the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB), in association with media research company Focal Point, searches for the term “load shedding” spiked between October 2021 and September this year.
And for good reason.
ALSO READ: Stage 2 load shedding to continue until Wednesday
Load shedding takes the win
As a result, South Africans’ least favourite activity, load shedding, has beaten Phala Phala to be crowned the 2022 South Africa Word of the Year, Bedfordview Edenvale News reported.
Other trending search terms that made the shortlist were inganekwane, gaslighting and xenophobia.
“It should come as no surprise to many South Africans that load shedding has been the most used word/term in South Africa as the dreaded rolling blackouts instituted by Eskom have largely defined our lived experience in 2022,” said PanSALB CEO Lance Schultz.
ALSO READ: Ramaphosa tells South Africans xenophobia ‘inconsistent with our values’
Focal Point analysed data to determine the prominence of the keywords and how often these words were used by credible print, broadcast and online media platforms.
“Ultimately, the SA Word of the Year reflects the preoccupations of South Africans for that given period, and this year South Africans had to contend with the impact of the energy crisis in the country.
“The term ‘load-shedding’ has superseded the first runner-up, Phala Phala, with over 40 000 clip counts and mentions across a broad range of media,” he added.
More notable nominees for this year’s buzzword included immigrant, gender-based violence, iSigaxa sendaba (big story) and wishy wishy.
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Edited by Nica Richards.
This article first appeared on Caxton publication Bedfordview Edenvale News’ website. Read the original article here.
