Global Language Monitor - Top Words, Phrases and Names of The Year

Top Words, Phrases and Names of The Year

Since 2000, the Global Language Monitor (GLM) has been selecting the Top Ten Words, Phrases and Names of the Year. To select these words and phrases it uses a statistical analysis of language usage in the worldwide print and electronic media, on the Internet and throughout the Blogosphere, including Social media.

GLM announced its Top Words of the Year for 2011 on November 9, 2010. The Word of the Year was 'Occupy'. The Top Phrase of the Year was 'Arab Spring'. The Top Name of the Year was 'Steve Jobs'.

The Top Words of 2011 (WOTY)

Rank/Word/Comments

1. Occupy – ‘Occupy’ has risen to pre-eminence through Occupy Movement, the occupation of Iraq, and the so-called ‘Occupied Territories’.
2. Deficit – Growing and possibly intractable problem for the economies of the developed world.
3. Fracking – Hydraulic fracturing is a controversial method for extracting fossil fuels from hitherto unreachable deposits.
4. Drone – The ever increasing number of remotely piloted aircraft used for reconnaissance and attack purposes.
5. Non-veg – A meal served with meat, originally from India, now catching on worldwide.
6. Kummerspeck – From the German seeing wider acceptance in the English, excess weight gained from emotional overeating (grief bacon).
7. Haboob – A name imported from the Arabic for massive sandstorms in the American Southwest.
8. 3Q – Near universal term for ‘thank you’ now earning additional status after being banned from official Chinese dictionaries. Another example of the ever increasing mixing of numbers and letters to form words.
9. Trustafarians – Well-to-do youth (trust-funders) living a faux-Bohemian life style, now associated with the London Riots.
10. (The Other) 99 – Referring to the majority of those living in Western Democracies who are left out of the dramatic rise in earnings associated with “the Top 1%”.

The Top Phrases of 2011

Rank/Word/Comments

1. Arab Spring – The series of uprisings, social protests, and rebellions occurring among many nations of the Arab World beginning this spring.
2. Royal Wedding – The wedding of the former Kate Middleton and heir-to-the-British-Throne, Prince William that captivated millions around the world.
3. Anger and Rage – Characterizations of the global electorate by the pundits, though closer analyses has revealed more frustration than anger and more disappointment than rage.
4. Climate Change – No. 1 phrase for the first decade of the 21st century; still resonates into its second decade.
5. The Great Recession – Though officially over, the media term most frequently used to describe the on-going global economic restructuring.
6. Tahrir Square – The scene of the ‘25th of January’ demonstrations in Cairo against Hosni Mubarak.
7. Linear No Threshold (LNT) – The methodology to calculate risk from exposure to radioactive elements from the Fukushima Daiiachi disaster.
8. Bunga Bunga – Re-emerged in the language through ‘bunga-bunga’ parties hosted by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
9. ‘How’s that working out for you?’ – The New York Times credits Sarah Palin, but it predates her use of the phrase by several decades.
10. “Make no mistake about it!” – President Obama has repeated the phrase thousands of times since his 2008 election.

The Top Names of 2011

Rank / Name / Comments

1. Steve Jobs – The citations for Steve Jobs topped those for No. 2 (Osama bin-Laden and Seal Team 6) by more than 30%.
2. Osama bin-Laden & Seal Team 6 – Who changed the world more? Al-qaeda or Steve Jobs?
3. Fukushima – The epicenter of the Japanese Triple Disaster (earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown).
4. Mohamed Bouazizi – the Tunisian fruit vendor who set himself afire and became the symbol of Tunisian resistance – and the Arab spring.
5. Chinese Paramount Leader Hu Jintao – The Rise of the Tiger being a primary cause of the Global Economic Restructuring.
6. Kate Middleton – She captivated the world with her elegance and style and continues to do so as the Duchess of Cambridge.
7. Muammar Gaddafi – Libyan strongman toppled in the recent insurrection.
8. President Barack Obama – Hope and Change retreat further into the history books; the game plan is now for survival.
9. PIIGS – The nations of Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain taken together for their untenable deficits possibly affecting the economic health of the Eurozone.
10. Yaroslavl Lokomotiv – The ill-fated elite Russian hockey team that was virtually wiped out in the crash of a three-engine Yak-42.

Top Words of the Decade

1. Global Warming
2. 9/11
3. Obama
4. Bailout
5. Evacuee
6. Derivative
7. Google
8. Surge
9. Chinglish
10. Tsunami

Climate Change was top phrase; Heroes was the top name of the first decade of the 21st century.

Previous Words of the Year include:

2010: Top Words: No. 1: Spillcam, No. 2: Vuvuzela, No. 3: The Narrative Top Phrases: No. 1: Anger and Rage, No. 2: Climate Change, No. 3: The Great Recession Top Names: No. 1: Hu Jintao, paramount leader of China, No. 2: iPad, No. 3 Barack Obama

2009: Top Words: No. 1: Twitter, No. 2: Obama, No. 3: H1N1 Top Phrases: No. 1: King of Pop, No. 2: Obama-mania, No. 3: Climate Change Top Names: No. 1: Obama, No. 2: Michael Jackson, No. 3: Mobama

2008: Top Words: No. 1: Change, No. 2: Bailout, No. 3: Obama-mania Top Phrases: No. 1: Financial Tsunami, No. 2: Global Warming, No. 3: “Yes, We Can!” Top Names: No. 1: Barack Obama, No. 2: George W. Bush, No. 3: Michael Phelps

2007: Top Words: No. 1 Hybrid (representing all things green), No. 2: Surge Top Phrase: Climate Change Top Name: Al Gore

2006: Top Word: Sustainable Top Phrase: Stay the Course Top Name: Darfur

2005: Top Words: No. 1, Refugee, No. 2: Tsunami, No. 3: Katrina Top Phrase: Outside the Mainstream Top Name: (acts of) God

2004: Top Word: Incivility (for inCivil War) Top Phrase: Red States/Blue States, No. 2: Rush to War Top Name: Dubya/Rove

2003: Top Word: Embedded Top Phrase: Shock and Awe, No. 2: Rush to War Top Name: Saddam Hussein, No. 2: Dubya

2002: Top Word: Misunderestimate Top Phrase: Threat Fatigue Top Name: W (Dubya)

2001: Top Word: Ground Zero Top Phrase: ‘Lets Roll’ Top Name: The Heros

2000: Top Word: Chad Top Phrase: Dot.com Top Name: W (Dubya)