A Comparative Study of Chinese and English Hot Words of the Year from the Perspective of Sociolinguistics — Taking 2024 as an Example

Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. It can reflect the change and development of society. Today, people often use language to communicate in various ways subtly. Thus, each year’s hot words may somehow reflect people’s minds directly and indirectly, which also expresses some messages of the whole society. Moreover, the hot words of the year in diverse countries also reflect the social and cultural background of the country differently, through which people may find current and future trends around the world. Under these circumstances, this paper chooses hot words of 2024 as an example, mainly comparing the Chinese and English buzzwords through the aspects of sociolinguistics. The study attempts to analyze the connotation, characteristics, and political, social, and international background of hot words, and compares the hot words in different countries, to reveal the current social development trend and cultural differences of different countries, and even the direction of future development.