Over the last couple of weeks, the internet has been inundated with lists. That’s right, lists. Lists detailing the best and worst moments of 2011, the most memorable, and the most ridiculous.
If you want something a bit more serious than silly YouTube videos and awkward moments on reality T.V., then it’s not a bad idea to check out the entries that have made it onto various word of the year lists.
What exactly is the word of the year? Well, contrary to the obvious — they’re not the words that were used the most often — these words (or characters) are thought to represent the general overarching trend of the electing society.
We’re going to start with something simple: characters that represent one word, perhaps with a multitude of meanings.
Forging Bonds
Winters in Tokyo are always more or less the same. Bitingly cold once you step outside of the warm nest that are the overheated subway trains.
This year, however, things are a bit different. With energy conservation measures in place, Japan’s residents will find it difficult not to remember the plight of those in Tohoku who were affected by the earthquake that took place on March 11 as trains continue to run at reduced frequency and thermostats remain a couple degrees lower.
It comes as no surprise, then, that this year’s Chinese character is none other than 絆 (kizuna), which refers to the tie that is forged between two individuals. Bonds, of sorts. The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, which is responsible for choosing the winning character, explained that they wanted their choice to reflect the fact that all of Japan remains united despite tragedies earlier this year.
Runner-ups included disaster: 災 (sai) and tremor: 震 (shin), which were also nominated in light of recent events.
More Micro-blogging
Over the past year, we’ve been seeing the Chinese language become increasingly predominant in the online sphere — According to DCCI and ChinaResonance, the number of Internet users in China grew by 41 million this year, hitting 508 million users last June.
With popular social networking site Twitter blocked in most areas, Chinese people have been turning to Weibo, a Twitter lookalike owned and operated by Sina. Last month, the site hit a whopping 300 million users and continues to grow steadily.
Reflecting this influx of crowdsourced, user-submitted news, Want Daily’s Chinese character of the year, 微 (wei) means “small” and “minute”, and represents the micro-blogging social media trend that the nation has seen over the past year.
However, others feel that this “micro” trend isn’t just limited to the online sphere. The director of the Xiamen Commercial Daily who was responsible for nominating the character also explained that this year was also characterized by the fact that minor problems can cause small accidents, as evidenced by the Taiwan Strait conflict and the high speed train crash last June.
With over 10% of the 4.3 million votes, 微 beat out 41 other entrants, including runner-ups love: 爱 (ai) and trust: 信 (xin) for first place.
What Say You?
Are these characters expressive of what happened in Japan and China over the past year? Tell us what you think in the comments below!
