Language Report

The Language Report (or, strictly, the language report) was an account of the state and use of the English language published by the Oxford University Press (OUP) in 2003. It was compiled by lexicographer Susie Dent, best known for her regular appearances on the television word game Countdown, and was an annual publication until 2007.

The first Language Report, described by the OUP as "a frontline account of what we’re saying and how we’re saying it", reviewed, among other things, changes in the use of English since 1903, how new words come about, the language of the Internet and of text messaging (noting, for example, that on St Valentine’s Day 2003, more text messages than cards were sent), language relating to particular areas of activity (such as fashion, warfare, politics, music, business and sport), urban slang, American and “World” English (for example, that of Australasia and South Africa), as well as nicknames, quotations and personal names “which have transcended their owners” (for example, Ally McBeal, Elvis Presley and Delia Smith). There was also a list containing a word that typified each year between 1903 (gamma ray) and 2003 (SARS), a practice which continued with "a word a year" in future editions. (HarperCollins had produced a similar list in 1997 - from "radioactivity" in 1896 to "Blairite" in 1997.)

Succeeding reports, which drew on the work of Oxford’s language monitoring programme, concentrated on developments over the previous period of twelve months. A discernible feature was the increasing prominence given to Dent herself. In 2003 she was identified as the author on the inside title page and, with a small photograph, on the inside of the dust-jacket, but not on the outside; in 2004 and 2005, her name was on the front cover, with a photograph on the back cover; in 2006, her name was shown on the spine and her photograph was on the front cover. The 2007 edition had the name in larger letters than the title or sub-title.

...
Wikipedia