Tate's 'Bovvered' is word of the moment

Catherine Tate's "Am I bovvered?" catchphrase could be included in the Oxford English Dictionary, as its role is hailed by language experts.

The comedian put the phrase on the lips of the nation with her disinterested teenager Lauren - and even drew the Queen into the craze when she asked "Is one bothered?" at the last year's Royal Variety Performance.

Now it has got dictionary compilers considering whether "bovvered" should feature in their next edition. A spokesman for the publisher said: "'Am I bovvered?' and it's follow-up 'Does my face looked bovvered?' had already come to be seen as the perfect expression of a generation of teenagers and their speaking style.

"Now in 2006 'bovvered' has taken over from 'whatever' as the signature phrase of teenagers, and to challenge the Little Britain catchphrase 'yeah-but-no-but' as the embodiment of couldn't-care-less adolescence."

Susie Dent, from Channel 4's Countdown and author of The Language Report, said "bovvered" was a relation of another work which rose to common use in recent years.

"Bovvered neatly reflects our culture and its linguistic influences," she explained. "It is also arguably an extension of 'chav' which caused something of a stir when it was named word of the year in 2004.

"Both words illustrate the power of language to divide opinion and excite debate by evoking a whole social milieu."