‘Gangnam Style’ in line for dictionary cinclusion

He has the most watched video in YouTube history, became a pop sensation with a horse-riding dance craze that has swept the world and now Korean singer Psy may cement his place in popular culture with recognition from a British dictionary.

Gangnam Style, Psy’s signature song, has been chosen along with “fiscal cliff” and “Romneyshambles” as some of Collins Dictionary’s words of the year.

Collins Dictionary has selected 12 words, one for each month, which played their part in defining the past year. The final list — made after members of the public submitted their own suggestions — reflects the top news stories and trends of the year, with events such as the Olympics, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the US election all represented.

‘’Fiscal cliff’’ made it into the list for this month amid talk of the US government facing a sharp decrease in government spending and an increase in taxes that could throw the economy back into recession.

‘’Jubilympics’’ recalls the month of June, in which Britain was preparing to host the London Olympics and celebrate the Diamond Jubilee while ‘’Games makers’’, London’s vast team of Olympics volunteers, make it on to the list for August.

American politics, showbiz and events also shaped a number of the dictionary’s chosen dozen.

Legbomb

During the Oscars in February, actress Angelina Jolie posed with her right leg jutting out of her high-slit dress, spawning the word ‘’legbomb’’ and leading to many parody images being created.

In May, Facebook launched its initial public offering and its share price plummeted almost immediately after hitting the public market.

The event led to the word ‘’zuckered’’, named after the social networking site’s founder Mark Zuckerberg.

When US presidential candidate Mitt Romney travelled to London in July, his critics branded the visit a ‘’Romneyshambles’’, a word that also makes it  to the list.

Romney’s secretly-taped comment that 47 per cent of Americans would vote for Obama no matter what because they are dependent on the government meant that ‘“47 per cent’’ became a key phrase of the election and enters the dictionary list for September.

October’s word is ‘’superstorm’’ after Superstorm Sandy, which wreaked havoc in portions of the Caribbean, the mid-Atlantic and the north-eastern United States.

The list is completed with January’s nominated word, ‘’Broga’’. The word, formed from the combination of “bro’’ and “yoga”, accompanied the launch of a new form of yoga tailored to men.

The public submitted each word online. Some were published already as a reflection of their frequency, breadth and period of use.

Others are deemed to be candidates, which will be added to the online dictionary at the next site update.

Other words are under review, meaning that evidence of use is continuing to grow and be collected.

- Reuters