Is there one word that best reflects everything we've been through over the past year?
Every year the Oxford English Dictionary selects that one word, which is supposed to "reflect the ethos, mood or preoccupations and to have lasting potential as a word of cultural significance" of the previous year.
Rizz – a shortened version of charisma – became the Oxford's editors' choice for the departing 2023, the dictionary publisher unveiled in late November. (Authentic was Merriam-Webster's choice, while Cambridge Dictionary picked the word hallucinate.) Oxford Dictionary notes that the use of the word they chose has dramatically increased in the English-speaking world over the last 12 months, and it's attracted a great deal of interest.
The Oxford's runners-up were prompt – an instruction, given to an artificial intelligence (AI) program, algorithm, etc., which determines or influences the content it generates; situationship – a romantic or sexual relationship that is not considered to be formal or established; as well as Swiftie – an enthusiastic fan of the singer Taylor Swift (a phenomenon that I've been trying to crack for a while, but no luck).
Interestingly, the word rizz claimed the No. 1 spot the same year in which Chat GPT, an AI creator that by format is not supposed to have any charisma, went viral, and the discussion about the potential and dangers of AI found its way into all and every profession and field.
While dictionaries monitor the vocabulary, moods and changes in 67 different countries and 27 non-sovereign entities, all using English as an official language, the tendencies in every given country and community might resonate or differ.
I think, Estevan hasn't had any problems with its rizz throughout the last year, nor have the people, which wouldn't make it our word of 2023.
But what were we talking about these past 12 months?
Energy, as part of our rizz, economy and life in general, renewable or not, was, as always, a big topic in this region. The potential to become an even more global energy centre – an attractive perspective for Estevan – was painted and discussed in small and big groups throughout the past year and will be talked about more and more as we get closer to 2030.
Innovations were being brought up more and more often with some reflections on great individuals and local achievements, as well as planning for further development and growth in the tech innovations sector. I felt the connection between innovations and Estevan grew stronger over the past year and marked even greater potential for the region.
The city and its residents' safety, well-being and mental health needs were being addressed more often through a systematic scope. This one was also a reflection of a more global situation. But even though this topic remained important on all scales, after years of the pandemic and then a slow and often not-that-easy recovery, we just got tired of overfocusing on declines and gaps.
Many other topics and issues were on our minds when it came to the local agenda. Dave and I tried to do a well-versed recap of everything we've been through in our Year in Review and the Top 10 Stories of 2023.
But if I had to find one word to sum up what's been happening in Estevan over the past 12 months, in reality, emotionally and culturally, I'd describe it with the well-known term "changes". They might not be happening yet in every field, but they definitely were in the air. Changes came to how we do things and how we talk about things, how we grow and how we educate our children, how we plan for the future and preserve the past.
My runner-up would be another old word. (Today's Estevan is pretty conservative, so are the most-used words here.) It'd be "community" in its best meaning of a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common, as well as a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests and goals, as Oxford Dictionary defines it.
Here, we appeal to the community in times of need and happiness; we respond to emergencies, minor and major, as a community; we do things to serve the community; we mourn and celebrate with the community; and we care for each other as a community. Estevan indeed is a community – something that's become a notion of the past in big cities and many other places but is still a thing here.
And while the two words I'd choose are somewhat opposite in their content, I feel they describe the Estevan of 2023 the best.
What word or phrase would you choose to sum up 2023, locally or in general?
