Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, well-known for his vast vocabulary, has shared his latest ‘word of the day’- algospeak.
The Kerala MP explained the meaning of algospeak on Twitter. “Word used on social media posts to avoid using another that algorithms may identify as unsuitable or inappropriate, in order to bypass downranking by content moderation filters on social media platforms. Eg using “unalive” rather than ‘dead’,” Tharoor tweeted.
#WordOfTheDay:
*algospeak* [noun]:
word used on social media posts to avoid using another that algorithms may identify as unsuitable or inappropriate, in order to bypass downranking by content moderation filters on social media platforms. Eg. using “unalive” rather than “dead.”— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 20, 2022
While many social media users were amused by the word of the day, some others have found it to have a reference to the recent unparliamentary words row after the Union Government released a list of words deemed unfit for use in Parliament. “People rather resort to writing words something like “de@d”. Using “unalive” should be interesting,” commented a user. Another user commented, “When I was in school, during attendance instead of saying ‘Present Ma’am’, I use to say ‘Not Absent Ma’am’ as a joke.”
A third one remarked, “Yup the constant need to tip-toe around this AI or “algo-speak” can be very tiring for some of us folks ! No wonder kids these days live on “URBAN dictionary” than a REGULAR one we used while growing up !”
People rather resort to writing words something like “de@d”.
Using “unalive” should be interesting.— Luvraj S 🌐 (@Luviraj) July 20, 2022
When I was in school, during attendance instead of saying “Present Ma’am”, I use to say “Not Absent Ma’am” as a joke.
— Mohd Shahid Deshnoor (@iDeshnoor) July 20, 2022
Yup the constant need to tip-toe around this AI or “algo-speak” can be very tiring for some of us folks !
No wonder kids these days live on “URBAN dictionary” than a REGULAR one we used while growing up !
— KrishnaFromAtlanta (@Krishna59638949) July 20, 2022
Langage is becoming smarter day by day, but not the hearts
— Save Nature & Humanity (@bankofbiology) July 20, 2022
The list of unparliamentary words was released by the Lok Sabha Secretariat on July 14, ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament. The Rajya Sabha Chairman and the Lok Sabha Speaker will have the final word in removing words and expressions.
In May this year, Tharoor had come up with the word of the era – doomscrolling. Doomscrolling means the act of continuously seeking out and reading bad news.
Before that, Tharoor’s tongue twister — quomodocunquize — left netizens scratching their heads. Tharoor took a dig at the Ministry of Railways with the rarely used word ‘quomodocunquize’ that means “to make money by any means possible.”