‘Rizz’, short for ‘charisma’, was named the Word of The Year for 2023 by the Oxford English Dictionary. On the internet, there have been mixed reactions to the word’s new status, as many people weren’t even aware the word existed.
Firstly, why was it chosen as the Word of the Year? The OUP, or Oxford University Press, said in a release that “Rizz was chosen by the language experts at OUP as an interesting example of how language can be formed, shaped, and shared within communities, before being picked up more widely.”
The word comes from Black culture, and was popularised by Kai Cenat, an online creator, who used the word in videos jokingly.
Over a short period of time, the word garnered a lot of online attention, and took place in a few trends.
However, for those who don’t use social media, this could have been quite confusing.
One teenager, Ela Cummins said that she thought that the 2023 Word of The Year should be changed as she thought that “it could be quite inappropriate and a lot of people don’t know what it means”.
Many others share this view and even more still don’t understand the word.
On the other hand, some people think that it’s important to not change the Word of The Year because of what the word represents in a wider perspective.
Historically, there have been many hurtful stereotypes and attitudes towards people of colour and their cultures, so having the Word of The Year be slang from black culture is important in that perspective.
Also, it can help people recognise how language works, as people shouldn’t be discriminated against for things such as their dialect.
Having a slang word as the Word of The Year could be something of a symbol for this.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here