2. Some facts from the 1950’s:
• Winston Churchill became prime minister of Great Britain
• Harry S Truman signs a peace treaty with Japan officially Ending WWII
• The Great smog of 1952
• DNA was discovered
• Britain sponsored an Expedition to search for the Abominable Snowman
• Reports said that cigarettes cause cancer
• Segregation ruled Illegal in the United States of America
• The McDonalds corporation was founded
• Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus
3. Inventions:
Mr Potato Head (the toy) was patented
Laser, invented by Gordon Gould
Hula Hoop, by Richard Knerr and Arthur
"Spud" Melin
Pacemaker, by Wilson Greatbatch
Microchip, by Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce
Telephone Answering Machine, by Bell
Laboratories and Western Electric
The first McDonalds started by Ray Kroc
Car seat belts were introduced in the
1950s
Jonas Salk developed a vaccine against
polio myelitis
The Barbie Doll (launched in 1959)
4. Politics: Winston Churchill
• Winston Churchill became prime minister of Great Britain
Churchill became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for the second time in
1951 – 1955. He mainly focused on foreign affairs, reducing Cold War tensions.
He was widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the 20th century
and he was an officer in the British Army. He was also the first person to be made
an honorary citizen of the United States.
By keeping the special relationship the British had with America,
means that new language is bound to develop. Borrowings and loan
words would appear from sharing culture and understanding.
5. Wars:
The Korean war began in June 1950 and ended in July 1953. The
war was between the Republic of Korea (south Korea) and was
supported by the United Nations. The UN included troops, not only
from USA and Britain, but from Canada, Australia, the Netherlands,
Colombia, Turkey, the Philippines, France and many others. The USA
made the largest contribution of troops and equipment, and Britain
was second. This set the pattern for the Cold War.
War can have a massive impact on a country. New cultures,
understandings and languages can be brought back from big events
like these.
6. Scientific breakthroughs:
DNA was discovered
1953: Watson and Crick published their discovery of the structure of
DNA. They received a Nobel Prize in 1962 for this. A hugely important
discovery, has since formed the basis for a wide range of scientific
discovery.
With new scientific discoveries came a whole new set of words to
explain what is happening inside the human body.
7. Music
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTh406JSLPg
• This article includes an overview of the major events and
trends in popular music in the 1950s.
• In the First World, rock and roll, pop, swing, rhythm and
blues, blues, country and rockabilly dominated and defined
the decade's music.
8. Technological Factors:
1953: The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II meant that many more people
brought televisions so that they could watch this event. Cameras had never
before been allowed into this event at Westminster Abbey so the general public
were thrilled to watch this event live. Now, two-thirds of homes owned a
television, with a second TV channel being added in 1955.
With more people watching TV, new language was being heard by more
people. This means the introduction of new words via TV programmes.
9. The Culture: Chinese
1955:The introduction of Chinese restaurants which saw an increase
in the Chinese community. People were adapting and trying new
cuisines which had been adapted to suit British people.
The introduction of these new foods would bring in new words into
Britain causing some language changes as of the different languages
and food names. The borrowing will have occurred as the British
people took on these new words to fit with the styles of foods.
10. The Culture: Middle Eastern
1956: Middle Eastern recipes were also being brought over to the UK.
Roden’s successful cook books (born to a Jewish Egyptian Family). As
disposable incomes increased, people begun eating out more, and
travelling abroad. Immigrants began pouring into Britain, bringing
with them their food and culture.
This meant for more borrowing and loan words, as people discovered
new things they had never before tried. Words were needed for all
these new discoveries meaning a change in language.
11. The Industry:
1956: Britain opened its first Nuclear Power Station supplying substantial amounts of
electricity to a national system.
New industries mean new jobs. New jobs mean people have to learn a new trade and an
introduction of new words. With new developments come a variety of new words to
describe all things that had never before needed a word to describe them. This is all down
to these items/technology not existing before.
Small neighbourhood shops were replaced by large chain food stores, bringing a wide
variety of goods, smart advertising and frequent sales.
Larger food chains mean that a wider variety of foods are stocked. Larger companies can
ship in food from around the world meaning more is readily available to everyone. People
are therefore immersed to new things, experiencing food of other cultures and learning
new words to fit with them.
12. Words added to the dictionary:
• airdate, n. The television jargon word makes its appearance in 1950
• apparat, n. The Russians got this word from German, which they used to denote the Communist Party infrastructure.
English borrowed apparat from Russian in 1950. [Languagehat has antedated apparat to 1946.]
• Bat Mitzvah, n. The OED records this term for a Jewish girl’s coming-of-age ceremony from 1950, although non-
Orthodox Jews had been celebrating them for decades prior to this citation. Bat Mitzvah is Hebrew for “daughter of
commandment” and is analogous to the male Bar Mitzvah.
• batshit, n. and adj. The OED records this slang word from 1950, but like most slang terms it probably was circulating for
some time prior to this.
• big bang, n. This term is a good example of the OED’s dating methodology. The OED relies on written (and now electronic)
sources almost exclusively.
• brainwashing, n. (also brainwash, n.) This origin of this noun is often associated with Chinese prisoner-of-war
interrogation techniques during the Korean War, but the written record of the word predates that war by a few months.
• calzone, n. This OED entry is nice illustration of the problems with deciding when a word has become assimilated into the
language.
• chunder, v. The Australian slang verb for vomit makes its appearance.
13. Words added to the dictionary:
• ergonomics, n. While ergonomics has always referred to the study of humans and their work environments
(the Greek ἔργον or ergonmeans “work"), the goal of the discipline has shifted over the decades
• filo, n. The name for the type of pastry dough makes its English-language appearance. The word is often
spelled phyllo.
• frenemy, n. Meaning: A person with whom one is friendly, despite a fundamental dislike or rivalry; a person
who combines the characteristics of a friend and an enemy.
• house-sitter, n. Modeled after baby-sitter and dog-sitter, this word has its debut.
• multimedia, n. This word was invented by advertising execs in 1950. Sometimes coinages fill a need.
• napalm, v. The noun dates to 1942, which makes sense. But the verb didn’t arise until 1950 and the next
war. Napalm is a blend ofnapthenate + palmitate, from the aluminum salts of naphthenic acids and coconut
oil that is used to thicken the gasoline.
• ponytail, n. The name of the hairstyle makes a singular appearance in Anthony Trolliope’s 1873 The Eustace
Diamonds as a play on the then name for the style horse’s tail. But ponytail didn’t catch on until 1950s
America.
• telecon, n. In 1950, the tele- prefix stood for teletype. Later, the meaning shifted to telephone. The -con is
for conference, of course.
• Vespa, n. The maker of the Italian motor scooters filed for a British trademark in 1950.
