"Yeah, but no..." - Little Britain's incomprehensible Vicky Pollard

"Chav" - the label for these youngsters - has been named buzzword of the year in Susie Dent's book Larpers and Shroomers: The Language Report.

Miss Dent said it was a "horrible" word but "a good example of a word that has burst out on to the scene".

The book lists buzzwords for every year since "hip" in 1904.

Ms Dent, a regular expert on Channel 4's Countdown, said "chav" was "a good example of a word that has flown under the radar for quite a long time".

It is believed to come from the mid-19th Century Romany word Chavi, meaning child.

A CENTURY OF BUZZWORDS 1904 hip 1936 spliff 1945 mobile phone 1949 Big Brother 1953 hippy 1965 miniskirt 1974 punk 1980 power dressing 1998 text message 2004 chav See the full list - and write a story containing the words

"It is one of quite a few social class labels that have emerged," Ms Dent said.

She added that while its current meaning was derogatory, it could evolve into something more positive.

"I think we may find that because a lot of people have been quite outraged by it, it starts to transform itself into something quite positive.

"Chav fashion may become something quite cool."

The book, published by Oxford University Press, lists a buzzword for every year since 1904.

"I wanted to look at how language is changing," Miss Dent said.