Wordwatch: Likely
The Lord Mayor of London, the Rt Hon William Russell, has issued a Bulletin to the City Companies, a passage of which runs:
“…The overwhelming majority of firms of all sizes in the City, including the resident Livery companies, have been able to work from home during the lockdown. This trend is likely to persist, as companies have been satisfied with how they have been able to conduct business remotely … There will also be some changes to the City’s streetscape, to provide more space for walking and cycling. This will likely include closing some streets to vehicle traffic and reallocating carriageways for pedestrians and queueing.”
Apart from its value as a comment on current life in the City of London, the passage strikes me for what may seem a obscure enough reason. In this short extract, it uses the adverb “likely” in two quite different ways, which many people will probably have no difficulty accepting. But whereas one has been with us for a long time, the other is a novelty that has suddenly gained widespread currency.
“This trend is likely to persist” uses “likely” is a way I’m quite familiar with, as an adjective, qualifying “trend”. But in the phrase: “This will likely include closing some streets …” the word is an adverb, and means “probably”. This is a usage that the Oxford English Dictionary says is “rare” except in dialect or Scots.
In fact, it’s common enough in conjunction with “very” or “most”: “She will most likely bring us a present”. But the omission of any qualifier makes for an un-British construction. We’re all quite familiar with it in that form, not as a provincialism or dialect word, but as universally common in American English.
It’s well known that American English has a powerful effect on the language spoken in these islands, and has had for two centuries or more, thanks to its energy and, often, succinctness. As for “likely”, we’ve been listening to Americans using the word in their own way for many decades, but it hasn’t penetrated deeply into the practice of British English. Until now. In the last year or so, suddenly it has become standard speech, as the Lord Mayor’s prose demonstrates so clearly.
I’ve noticed it in many other contexts, all within the last few months – the Lord Mayor is only following a new norm. I’m fascinated by the timing, and the speed, of changes like this. Can we explain why this particular use of a well-known word has broken into our standard usage so completely just at this moment?