年轻一代正在用"search it up"这一表述替代"Google it"，这一语言变化成为了区分不同年龄段的明显标志。[1]11岁的卡森表示她只使用"search it up"，从未听朋友说过"I Googled it"。[1]这种转变反映了从品牌词向通用词的典型演变过程，同时也显示了AI聊天机器人时代搜索方式的改变。[1]
"Google"作为动词曾经占据主导地位，在2006年被添加到《韦氏词典》和《牛津英语词典》中。[1]Google联合创始人拉里·佩奇在1998年的邮件列表中首次使用了"Googling"一词。[1]2002年，Google还被美国方言学会命名为"年度最有用词汇"。[1]然而，这种语言优势正在消退。Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary直到2024年才添加了"search up"这一短语。[1]
语言学家指出，这一现象并非罕见。乔治敦大学语言学教授德博拉·坦嫩指出这种变化类似于"Kleenex"用于纸巾的演变过程，反映了Google作为搜索引擎的创新性和垄断地位的下降。[1]这些品牌词随着时间推移逐渐演变为通用术语，最终失去其专属性。[1]
A linguistic shift is underway among Generation Z and Generation Alpha, who increasingly favor the phrase "search it up" over the once-ubiquitous "Google it"—a change that linguists say marks a generational divide as clear as any fashion or cultural marker.[1] The transformation reflects a broader pattern where brand names fade into generic terms as technologies evolve and new search methods emerge.[1]
Google's dominance in everyday language was extraordinary but ultimately temporary. The American Dialect Society named "Google" its most useful word in 2002, and the term entered major dictionaries as a verb in 2006, when both Merriam-Webster and the Oxford English Dictionary added it.[1] Google co-founder Larry Page first used the gerund form "Googling" in a 1998 mailing list, cementing the brand's early association with the act of searching itself.[1] Yet by 2024, the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary had added "search up" as a recognized phrase, signaling the linguistic transition now visible among younger users.[1]
The shift mirrors historical precedents where proprietary terms lose ground to generic alternatives. Linguists compare it to how "Kleenex" once dominated tissue usage but eventually yielded to the generic term.[1] An 11-year-old named Carson exemplified this divide, stating she uses only "search it up" and has never heard friends say "I Googled it."[1] Georgetown University linguistics professor Deborah Tannen noted the parallel to such brand-name erosion, suggesting the change reflects not only generational speech patterns but also the rise of artificial intelligence chatbots as search alternatives.[1] While "search" itself has ancient roots, dating to 1529 in the Oxford English Dictionary, its pairing with "up" represents the contemporary vocabulary of a generation that takes search technology for granted rather than tying it to any single company.[1]