The year's not over yet, but the folks at the Global Language Monitor — a company known for tracking trends in language usage — have already put out their annual list of the top words, phrases, and names.
Something the Global Language Monitor calls its Narrative Tracker technology determined the top words, phrases and names. This technology "analyzes the Internet, blogosphere, the top 75,000 print and electronic global media, as well as new social media sources" for references to certain terms.
This year's top honors in the word category go to words we've frequently seen and heard in the news recently:
- Occupy – ‘Occupy’ has risen to pre-eminence through Occupy Movement, the occupation of Iraq, and the so-called ‘Occupied Territories’.
- Deficit – Growing and possibly intractable problem for the economies of the developed world.
- Fracking – Hydraulic fracturing is a controversial method for extracting fossil fuels from hitherto unreachable deposits.
The top phrases of the year include "Arab Spring" (No. 1), "Royal Wedding" (No. 2), "Climate Change" (No. 4), and "Bunga Bunga" (No. 8). "How’s that working out for you?" manages to take the number nine spot on the list. It's credited to politician Sarah Palin even though it's definitely been around for several decades.
When it comes to the top names, Steve Jobs heads the list, followed by Osama bin Laden and Seal Team 6 (who share the No. 2 spot). Kate Middleton, Moammar Gadhafi, and President Obama are also in the top ten. It's worth noting that "citations for Steve Jobs topped those for No. 2 (Osama bin-Laden and Seal Team 6) by more than 30%."
You can find the full listing of this year's top words, names, and phrases on the Global Language Monitor site along with the honorees from prior years.
Related stories:
- 'Sexting,' 'buttload' and 'nom nom' added to dictionary
- 'OMG,' and 'LOL' added to the dictionary
- 'NSFW,' 'ZOMG,' and 'Twittersphere' added to dictionary
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