By Betty Kirkpatrick
Most of the usual linguistic suspects – campaign, manifesto and so on – duly made an appearance at the recent Scottish election, but there was one new kid on the block, tsunami. It was reported that a great political tsunami had swept across Scotland and that a tsunami of votes had been cast for the SNP.
Tsunami was, of course, not a new word to us, although new in this particular context. Pronounced soo-na-mi with the emphasis on the na, tsunami is derived from Japanese words meaning harbour wave. When used literally, it describes a large destructive ocean wave caused by an underwater earthquake or another movement of the earth’s surface.
We had encountered the word before the Scottish election, principally on 26 December 2004 when the world’s media reported a severe earthquake in the Indian Ocean which triggered an extensive, powerful and incredibly destructive tsunami.
We were to encounter the word again in March 2011, when Japan’s most powerful earthquake since records began struck the north-east coast of the country, triggering a massive and devastating tsunami.
Many words, like tsunami, move on from their literal meaning to acquire a figurative use. We often follow America when it comes to language development, and they certainly seem to have extended the meaning of tsunami before we did. Politically, it has been in use there for some time: in the mid-term elections of November 2010 the Republican Mark Kirk, who won President Obama's former US Senate seat in Illinois, referred to a tsunami hitting the heartland.
Tsunami has been extensively used with reference to health problems as well as to exceptional political success. In February 2011, an article in the Lancet referred to a global tsunami of cardiovascular disease, and connections between tsunami and serious chronic disease had been made several years before that. Connections have also been made with obesity – a tsunami of obesity sweeping the world being one of the major causes of serious chronic disease.
Tsunami has also forged connections with the elderly. In America the so-called baby boomers, some of whom will reach the age of 65 and retirement in 2011, have been accused of creating an ageing-population tsunami, both in terms of declining health and demands on the economy.
Tsunami is physically associated with great volume and also with great destruction. When used in a political context, it is the volume that is being stressed – although if you voted for one of the unsuccessful parties you might see signs of destruction as well. However, in a health or demographic context it is the destruction element as well as the volume element that is being emphasised. Thus, the ageing-population tsunami is regarded as being a threat to society.
It is hardly flattering to older members of the population to be called a tsunami. Sometimes it is known as a silver tsunami, with a reference to the hair colour that nature intended for the elderly. The phrase may sound better, but does it sugar the pill? Almost certainly not!
Betty Kirkpatrick is the former editor of several classic reference books, including Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary and Roget’s Thesaurus. She is also the author of several smaller language reference books, including The Usual Suspects and Other Clichés published by Bloomsbury, and a series of Scots titles, including Scottish Words and Phrases, Scottish Quotations, and Great Scots, published by Crombie Jardine.
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