Language Report - The 2003 Report

The 2003 Report

The first Language Report, described by the OUP as "a frontline account of what we’re saying and how we’re saying it", reviewed, among other things, changes in the use of English since 1903, how new words come about, the language of the Internet and of text messaging (noting, for example, that on St Valentine’s Day 2003, more text messages than cards were sent), language relating to particular areas of activity (such as fashion, warfare, politics, music, business and sport), urban slang, American and “World” English (for example, that of Australasia and South Africa), as well as nicknames, quotations and personal names “which have transcended their owners” (for example, Ally McBeal, Elvis Presley and Delia Smith). There was also a list containing a word that typified each year between 1903 (gamma ray) and 2003 (SARS), a practice which continued with "a word a year" in future editions. (HarperCollins had produced a similar list in 1997 - from "radioactivity" in 1896 to "Blairite" in 1997.)