博客

[FCE] ‘Vibe coding’ beats ‘clanker’ to be Collins dictionary’s word of the year

收听本期播客

阅读正文

Every year, language experts at Collins Dictionary undertake the task of selecting their Word of the Year, a term that encapsulates the prevailing trends and significant shifts in society. For 2025, the chosen term is “vibe coding,” a phrase that points to a revolutionary change in how we interact with technology.

So, what does “vibe coding” mean? It refers to an innovative approach to software development where artificial intelligence is employed to translate conversational human language into executable software commands. In practice, this means an individual could design a mobile application simply by describing its desired functions and appearance, without writing a single line of traditional code. The concept, which has seen a dramatic surge in usage this year, was originally popularised by Andrej Karpathy, a leading figure in the AI industry.

The selection process for the Word of the Year is meticulous. Lexicographers, specialists who compile dictionaries, continuously monitor an enormous 24-billion-word corpus of texts from diverse media sources. They search for new words or phrases whose frequency of use has increased substantially, signalling a notable cultural or technological development.

“Vibe coding” was not the only fascinating term on the shortlist. Another notable entry was “clanker,” a pejorative term for AI and robots that gained popularity on social media, often used to express irritation with automated systems. The list also included “coolcation,” describing the growing preference for holidays in colder climates to avoid extreme summer heat, and “taskmasking,” the act of creating a false impression of productivity at work while engaged in other activities.

According to the managing director of Collins, the selection of “vibe coding” highlights a fundamental transformation in software creation. It illustrates how AI is making advanced technology more accessible to a much broader audience. The term perfectly captures the seamless fusion of human creativity with machine intelligence, suggesting a future where our ideas can be brought to life more intuitively than ever before.

阅读练习

1. What is the main purpose of the article?

  • A. To provide a technical guide on how to use “vibe coding”.
  • B. To announce and explain the significance of Collins Dictionary’s Word of the Year.
  • C. To compare the advantages and disadvantages of several new English words.
  • D. To criticise the growing influence of artificial intelligence on language.

2. According to the text, the selection of the Word of the Year is based on…

  • A. a public vote on social media.
  • B. the opinions of technology experts.
  • C. a significant rise in the use of a new word.
  • D. a word’s inclusion in an important new dictionary.

3. What can be inferred about the terms “clanker”, “coolcation”, and “taskmasking”?

  • A. They are all related to developments in artificial intelligence.
  • B. They were considered for Word of the Year but were less significant than “vibe coding”.
  • C. They are expected to disappear from the language very soon.
  • D. They were invented by the lexicographers at Collins Dictionary.

4. In the final paragraph, the word ‘accessible’ is closest in meaning to…

  • A. complicated.
  • B. expensive.
  • C. available and easy to use.
  • D. popular with professionals.

5. What is the opinion of the Collins managing director about “vibe coding”?

  • A. It is a temporary trend that will soon be forgotten.
  • B. It is a worrying development for professional programmers.
  • C. It represents a major positive change in how people can use technology.
  • D. It requires a high level of human creativity to be effective.