Will broligarchs ruin language? What the Cambridge Dictionary’s new words tell us

Tradwife comes from ‘traditional wife’, a woman who believes being a mother and wife are her main roles in life. Tradwives on the Internet can generally be found cooking or playing with their small children in flowy outfits and Pinterest-perfect homes, while their husbands are presumably out earning money. The tradwives will tell you about “leaning into their feminity”, about choosing a “real man” who “protects their softness”, and then probably try to sell you an online course about making money from home.

On the other end of the spectrum are broligarchs, a combination of bro and oligarch, denoting the ‘tech-bros’ who have money and are now assuming greater political power. These bros are rich and successful members of the tech world, still predominantly a boys’ club. Either through personal political ambition or through the massive reach of the platforms they own, they are also serious political players, thus combining multiple types of power and influence in the sphere of the ‘outside’, far removed from the tradwives’ curated cosiness.

Delulu is short for delusional, used for people who are choosing to stay ignorant of reality. Skibidi, on the other hand, distorts reality. It is a nonsensical word, attached to nothing but absurdity.

The Cambridge dictionary describes skibidi as “a word that can have different meanings such as “cool” or “bad”, or can be used with no real meaning as a joke.” It first became popular around 2023, through the ‘skibidi toilet’ videos on YouTube, where human heads poked out of toilet bowls and sang. Don’t ask why, the randomness is the point.

Delulu, meanwhile, came to us from the K-pop fandom, where some fans were mocked for deluding themselves into thinking they could date the stars they so loved.

Why these words specifically?

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, “We have a team of lexicographers who are always on the lookout for new words appearing in the English language. They look at the Cambridge English Corpus to check the frequency of the word, and where it is used (in newspapers, in casual conversation, in academic texts, etc.). If the word is used in many different contexts over a period of time, the lexicographers add it to the dictionary. If the lexicographers think that a new word might be ephemeral, they keep a record of it to review at a later date.”

Basically, an important test is whether the word is likely to last. This was reiterated by Colin McIntosh, Lexical Programme manager at the Cambridge Dictionary, who told AFP, “We only add words where we think they’ll have staying power. Internet culture is changing the English language and the effect is fascinating to observe and capture in the Dictionary.”

But why add ‘Internet slang’ to the dictionary?

A language is always evolving, and a dictionary’s job is not to gatekeep, but record and explain what words people are using. However, the new inclusions point to a force that is shaping so much of what we consume and discuss — social media algorithms. Words like delulu or tradwife became popular once content creators on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, etc. realised these were being flagged as ‘trending’, and content using them could get greater visibility.

Thus, the wind behind the sails of these words’ current popularity is not spontaneous human usage, but a nameless, shapeless formula. However, if they prove Cambridge Dictionary right by displaying “staying power” even after the algorithmic wheel turns, they will demonstrate that human articulation can indeed be enriched from a wide variety of sources.