Twitter voted ‘top English word’
Twitter, the phenomenon of social networking in just 140 words made popular by Stephen Fry and Sarah Brown has been voted the top English word this year. The word was more popular than Obama and H1N1 – the scientific name for the latest Swine Flu strain sweeping the globe. Other words to enter common currency reflect the global economic crisis such as “stimulus” – the $800 billion aid package meant to help mend the US economy – and “deficit.”
Of the top 15 words, a further six are linked to the downturn such as “outrage” to denote feelings generated by bankers bonuses in bailed out companies, “bonus,” “unemployed,” and “foreclosure” when mortgage defaulters are evicted.
But surprisingly Hadron the ephemeral particles subject to collision in the Large Hadron Collider as part of the giant experiment into the origins of the universe has entered the global psyche.
The top words and phrases were compiled by Texas-based Global Language Monitor which monitors the internet, the media and an electronic database to estimate how many times certain topics are brought up.
Founder Paul Payack said: “In a year dominated by world-shaking political events, a pandemic, the after effects of a financial tsunami and the death of a revered pop icon, the word Twitter stands above all the other words.
“Twitter represents a new form of social interaction, where all communication is reduced to 140 characters. Being limited to strict formats did wonders for the sonnet and haiku.
“One wonders where this highly impractical word-limit will lead as the future unfolds.”
The top 15 words were:
1. Twitter
2. Obama
3. H1N1
4. Stimulus
5. Vampire
6. 2.0 – as in suffix attached to the next generation
7. Deficit
8. Hadron
9. Healthcare
10.Transparency
11.Outrage
12.Bonus
13.Unemployed
14.Foreclosure
15.Cartel
Content courtesy of The Telegraph
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/twitter/6685906/Twitter-voted-top-English-word.html
More posts from our team
Five Star
Reviewed Marketing
"Would definitely recommend to a friend"
"I cannot recommend Dental Design highly enough"
"Really great company to deal with"
"Very professional, efficient & adaptive to new situations"
"I cannot recommend them highly enough"
"Has been invaluable and gone out of her way to help us"
"We love the look of our practice website. Very professional!"
"Dental Design stood out both in their knowledge of the industry and their professionalism"
"The team and package offered at dental design was unrivalled"
"absolutely fantastic and are always on hand to help"
"Dental Design are fantastic to work with"
"always met with a swift and professional response"
