Research points the Word of the Year to Brazilians

At the end of a difficult year, the word that came to mind most of Brazilians came as no surprise. The survey that recorded the term “difficulties” as the most cited was made by consulting firm Cause – an Aberje associate– in partnership with the IDEIA Big Data Institute, between September 1st and November 25th. In its fourth edition, the study consulted 1,548 people from all regions of the country and various age groups, genders, education levels and social classes.

The research was done through online questionnaires and had three steps. In the first of these, the population had to indicate the word that best summarized 2019. In the second, 26 specialists from different fields of work ordered the results of the first phase and listed the “words of the year” of their choice. In the third, the list of terms resulting from the previous two steps was submitted again to popular vote.

“The Word of the Year survey is a way to get to know the feelings experienced in the country over the last 12 months. Our attention was drawn to the fact that it was placed in the plural, indicating that Brazilians faced problems in several areas,” says Leandro Machado, political scientist, and partner at Cause. Nevertheless, the result was a certain optimism about the future: the second word most cited by the population was “Hope,” indicated by 15% of the participants, and the third, “Renewal,” pointed by 13% of them. Besides, two out of three people said they had a positive expectation for 2020.