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Artificial Intelligence {A.I.) Beats Swiftie and Tunnels as Top Word of 2023 for Global English According to the Global Language Monitor.

CONTACT:   For Video or Verbal Interviews call +1.737.215.7750

For Immediate Release (End-of-year 2023)

Artificial Intelligence {A.I.) Beats Swiftie and Tunnels as Top Word of 2023 for Global English According to the Global Language Monitor.

Global Language Monitor’s official estimate of the number of words in the English language as of January 1, 2024, is:

1,080.502.4

AUSTIN, TX, December 27,  2023 - January 3, 2024 Metanewswire

Artificial Intelligence {A.I.) Beats Swiftie and Tunnels as Top Word of 2023 for Global English.

‘Artificial Intelligence’ (A.I.) seems to be on the mind of every person on the planet,” said Paul JJ Payack, President and Chief Word Analyst of Global Language Monitor, “though there is little consensus on whether A.I. bodes well or ill for the future of humankind”.

For the first-time this decade words of the pandemic no longer dominated the conversation of the English linguasphere.

“We also noticed,” Payack continued, “the English language ensconcing itself ever more deeply into the professional language used in academia, science, technology, politics, commerce, transportation, and entertainment”.

The Top Words or Phrases of 2023 follow:

  1. “Artificial Intelligence (or “A.I.”) — As humankind hurdles toward the so-called ”Singularity,” where computers surpass human intelligence with possible civilization-ending consequences.  (A.I. is a top contender for GLM’s “Top Technology Terms Everybody Uses but Few Truly Understand”.)

 

  1. “Swiftie(s)” – Enthusiastic, some would say rabid, phenomena describing the followers of pop and country singer-songwriter Taylor Alison Swift. Her tours are amassing billions of dollars in total revenue.

 

  1. “Tunnels” — Symbolic of the entire Hamas-Israeli conflict beginning October 7th. 2023.

 

  1. “Worldwide Migratory Crisis” – From the U.S.-Mexican border toNortheastern Europe, South Asia, and North Africa.

 

  1. “War in Ukraine,” – Nearly seven hundred days in, a deadly stalemate ensues, with Putin desperately looking for a way out.

 

  1. “Climate Change,”- including Derecho, Smoke, Heat Dome, Rising Sea Levels, and the like. Already one of the Top Words of the Decade—and probably one of the Top Words of the 21st Century, also.

 

  1. “Balloon” – The Chinese spy balloon that circumnavigated top military installations over the Central U.S. before being downed off the South Carolina Coast.

 

  1. “Implosion” — the apparent fate of the Titan submersible on its ill-fated journey to the Titanic at 10,500 feet under the North Atlantic off Newfoundland.

 

  1. “EMP” – Electromagnetic Pulse, according to the U.S. Government, a 1.4 Megaton bomb detonated above Kansas would destroy most of the electronics in the continental United States. (See Chinese spy balloon.)

 

  1. “Turmoil” – (See Vladimir Putin in …) Since the invasion of Ukraine, Putin’s Leadership skills have been increasingly questioned internally.

 

  1. “Supply Chain” — Supply chains take decades to set up but can quickly crumble. Newest concerns are the Red Sea shipping channels.

 

Bonus:  Tending Top Word of the 21stCentury:  “Fusion Power” – A relatively quiet press briefing in December announced a colossal moment in the history of Humankind (see note below.)

 

Paul JJ Payack’s Note:  Though scarcely an echo in the global media at the time, this event, perhaps, presages not only the Top Word of the of the Decade, Century, and, we dare say, perhaps the Third Millennium (if our species manages to survive that long).

 

The Background:  Scientists studying fusion energy at the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence National Laboratory in Livermore, California blasted a small almost minute nub of diamond encased frozen hydrogen with the power of some 200 giant lasers.  In less than one hundred trillionths of a second, a massive outpouring of neutrons signified a fusion reaction had produced about 50% more energy than was used to create it.  This was the long-sought-for Ignition Event, that signified a new era in History — Humans had harnessed, to an infinitesimally small degree, the mechanism that powers the Sun, the stars, the galaxy, and the Universe, itself.

 

Top Words of Global English for the year 2022 by The Global Language Monitor follow.

Rank/Word or Phrase/Comments

  1. Denier — Concept encompasses ‘Hater,’ ‘Cancel Culture,’ and the ‘Deniers’ of an ever-expanding list of facts, fallacies, and beliefs.
    2. Covid — Covid, one of the Top Words in Global English, again
    3. Right to Life — Pro-life position (Compare No. 19)
    4. Ukraine — Top non-Pandemic word in 2022
    5. Zero — In Retail, ‘zero’ used to mean ‘nothing’, but now embodies ‘goodness,’ ‘health,’ and ‘beauty’.
    6. Price of gas/petrol — Gasoline prices up 49% year over year.
    7. Vaccine — No. 2 word of the Pandemic
    8. Variant — Variant after variant after variant
    9. Climate change — One of the top phrases of the CENTURY thus far
    10. Pandemic — Pandemics tend to last for a number of years (or decades)
    11. Supply Chain — Supply chains take decades to set up but can quickly crumble
    12. Booster Dose — Boosted, double boosted, triple boosted …
    13. Diesel — Warning: Civilization does not run on gasoline; it runs on diesel
    14. Cancel Culture — Forced to quit by intense social media pressure
    15. Inflation Definition — Too much money chasing too few goods
    16. Global Warming — Again, one of the top ten words of the century
    17. Democracy — 600% stronger than ‘Democracy at Risk’
    18. Omicron — Coronavirus Omicron variant; the first of many to come
    19. Abortion Rights — A relatively modest position on the list (No. 3, ‘Right to life’ is 400% stronger)
    20. Donald Trump — After years of sparing Joe and the Donald are still neck and neck..

Creative Commons CC 2023 by the Global Language Monitor

Global Language Monitor began recording the Top Words of the year in 2000 to document the history of the 21st Century through the English language, the world’s first truly global language. The words are culled throughout the English-speaking world, which as of January 2024 stands at 2.58 billion people.

Global Language Monitor’s official estimate of the number of words in the English language as of January 1, 2024, is:

1,080.502.4

The First Anglo-Saxon word recorded in Runes is the word for ‘bread’.  It can, therefore, be considered the first Old English word in A.D. 451.

English has continued to churn out about 14.7 neologisms per day — about 5366 words a year. However not all words are considered worthy to be added to the most authoritative and respected English-language dictionaries, the unabridged and various editions of: the Oxford English Dictionary (UK), Merriam Websters (US), American Heritage (US), Collins (UK), and Macquarie (AUS).

Global Language Monitor employs its NarrativeTracker technologies for global internet and social media analysis. NarrativeTracker is based on global discourse, providing areal-time, accurate picture about any topic, at any point in time. NarrativeTracker analyzes the internet, blogosphere, and the top 300,000 print and electronic global media as well as new social media sources as they emerge. In addition, the Global Language Monitor also tracks the Top Words, Phrases, and Names of the 21st Century.

About Global Language Monitor

Based in Austin, Texas, the Global Language Monitor collectively documents, analyzes, and tracks trends in Global English, the world’s first truly global language The company is known for its Word of the Year, political analysis, college and university rankings, high-tech buzzwords, and media analytics.

 

For more information, visit Languagemonitor.com.

Paul JJ Payack
Global Language Monitor
+1 737-215-7750
pauljjpayack@gmail.com

 

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Buyer’s Remorse? It Happens With TopColleges, Too. And More Often Than You Might Imagine

It’s NotToo Late to Apply to College.  Even now.

It’s a well-know fact among admissions counselors that hundreds of thousands of first-year students are already planning their exit strategies from the schools they worked so hard to gain admission.

Change of Plans can occur do to any number of factors from homesickness to the sudden realization that the school of your dreams might, on closer inspection, has the potential to becoming a colossal miscalclation.

Thererfore, last-minute, College Applications Require Special Attention.  We can help turn your dilemma into an opportunity for your target colleges (and you, too)!

Admissions Essay:  Your essay is critical here since it’ s your opportunity to explain, in as much detail as you need, how you arrived at your decision to attend this college and why at this particular time.   Cost:  $99./ essay.  Includes thirty-minute ZOOM meeting.

Complete appliticaon package review.  Cost: $150. /  application.

Counseling Sessionson weretospp[ly     $100. per hour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The GLM Institute Introduction

The Global Language Monitor, the leading Global English portal, has launched, the GLM Institute. The GLM Institute provides a ready means for professionals worldwide to master the essentials of Global English, and to have their efforts certified. And no knowledge of English is more important that the ability to communicate through the written word. This is formally known as ‘expository writing’ or more simply, ’exposition’

New English Words Since A.D. 451

The First Anglo-Saxon word recorded in Runes is the word for ‘bread’.  It can, therefore, be considered the first Old English word in A.D. 451.

Many global professionals have picked up a basic knowledge of English through the Internet, Hollywood movies and music. However, it is a wholly differing skill to communicate complex thoughts and ideas through the written word. Lacking this essential skill can prove to be a subtle yet very real barrier to advancement in their education and/or careers.
According to Harvard Business School, those ‘… skilled in management, leadership, & analytical reasoning are in high demand by companies across industries’ and will remain so for the remainder of the decade, and beyond. And no skill is more strategic to enhancing career prospects than the ability to communicate strategic thinking skills through the adept use of Global English, or even gaining a working knowledge of the world’s first truly global language. This is the skillset that the Global Language Monitor Institute will provide you in the Essentials of Global English Certificate program.

Developed over forty years, variations of this program have been taught at Fortune 500 companies. colleges and universities, and financial institutions, among others. Portions of this program were developed at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, just outside of Boston.
Students can immediately register for the individual courses and will receive a 20% discount for any and all certificates they purchase with their original registration.
The Essentials of Global English program consists of a dozen of individual certificates and a final Capstone indicating mastery of the subject.

Initial course offerings from the Global Language Monitor Institute follow — individually, with significant discounts applied to ‘bundles’ of two or more offerings. (Bundles must be paid for at initial registration.)

Students receive a Certificate of Completion or Certificate of Achievement along with a badge that can be readily added to one’s resumé or CV. Additionally. they can receive the Honor’s marks or ‘With Distinction or ‘With Highest Distinction’ for maintaining appropriate Honors-level grades.\

 

The Global Language Monitor was founded in Silicon Valley in 2003 by Paul JJ Payack on the premise that new technologies were needed to understand the world of Big Data and “…to examine the totality of Global English with the tools now available to better understand the underlying trends that shape our words and, hence, our world. Our goal remains to detect the small changes in the language that often presage titanic shifts in the way humans communicate”.

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Register for GLM Institute Practicums Now

The Isle Skellig:  Where the Monks preserved the works of the Greek and Roman Authors, thus saving Western Civilization from oblivion

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Any Course, Any Time, Any Where

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Global Language Monitor Institute Now Accepting New Students

 

 

Scale Your Career to New Heights with a Certificate of Proficiency in Global English

Take Any Course, Any Time, Any Where™

By the Global Language Monitor, the Authority in Global English

 

According to Harvard Business School, those ‘… skilled in management, leadership, & analytical reasoning are in high demand by companies across industries’ and will remain so for the remainder of the decade, and beyond.  And no skill is more strategic to enhancing career prospects than the ability to communicate strategic thinking skills through the adept use of Global English, or even gaining a working knowledge of the world’s first truly global language.  This is the skillset that the Global Language Monitor provides and certifies.

GLM Institute 2023 Class Offerings and Fee Schedule Follow

All students must complete the Registration Form to enroll in classes.

Discounts (20%) are automatically applied when enrolling in (and paying for) two or more classes at registration.

Students must complete any three classes before being eligible for the Capstone.

Certificates are awarded for each completed class.

Certificates are marked ‘With Distinction” or “With Highest Distinction” for achieving honor grades of A or B.

Pricing ($USD)

  • Registration:  $75.
  • 100-level courses:   $250.
  • 200-level courses:   $350.
  • Capstone Level:  $525.
  • Printed Certificates:  $35.
  • Digital Badges:  Free

     

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The Global Language Monitor Names “Artificial Intelligence” or “A.I” the Top Word or Phrase of the Year 2023 Thus Far

The Global Language Monitor Names “Artificial Intelligence” or “A.I” the Top Word or Phrase of the Year 2023 Thus Far for Global English

Words of the Pandemic No Longer Dominate

Global Language MonitorCreative Commons CC 2022 by the Global Language Monitor

The Top Words or Phrase of the Year 2023 Thus Far (@WOTY2023) for Global English

The Global Language Monitor Names “Artificial Intelligence” or “A.I” the Top Word or Phrase of the Year 2023 Thus Far for Global English

Words of the Pandemic No Longer Dominate

AUSTIN, TX, UNITED STATES, July 4, 2023; MetaNewswire

For Immediate Release Fourth of July Week in the U.S.\

“For the first-time this decade words of the pandemic no longer dominate the conversation in Global English,” said Paul JJ Payack, President and Chief Word Analyst of the Global Language Monitor.  “This year we observed the continued acceleration of the spread of English into every nook-and-cranny of the planet.

“We also noticed the English language ensconcing itself ever more deeply into the professional language used in academia, science, technology, politics, commerce, transportation, and entertainment.

The Top Words or Phrases of 2023 thus far are as follows:

  1. “Artificial Intelligence (or “A.I.”) — As humankind hurdles toward the so-called ”Singularity,” where computers surpass human intelligence with possible civilization-ending consequences. (A.I. is also a top contender for GLM’s “Top Technology Terms Everybody Uses but Few Truly Understand”.)
  2. “Balloon” – The Chinese spy balloon that circumnavigated top military installations over the Central U.S. before being downed off the South Carolina Coast.
  3. “Implosion,” the apparent fate of the Titan submersible on its ill-fated journey to the Titanic at 10,500 feet under the North Atlantic off Newfoundland.
  4. “EMP” – Electromagnetic Pulse, according to the U.S. Government, a 1.4 Megaton bomb detonated above Kansas would destroy most of the electronics in the continental United States. (See Chinese spy balloon.)
  5. “Worldwide Migratory Crisis” – From the U.S.-Mexican border to Eastern Europe, South Asia, and North Africa,
  6. “Climate Change,” including Derecho, Smoke, Heat Dome, Rising Sea Levels, and the like.
  7. “War in Ukraine,” – Some five hundred days in, a deadly stalemate ensues.
  8. “Vladimir Putin in Turmoil” — 
  9. “Death of Queen Elizabeth,” –The U.K.’s longest-reigning monarch leaves a legacy perhaps never to be matched.
  10. “Fusion Power” – A relatively quiet press briefing in December announced a colossal moment in the history of Humankind:

 

Paul JJ Payack’s Note:  Though scarcely an echo in the global media at the time, this event, perhaps, presages not only the Top Word of the first six months of 2023, but also the word of the Year, Decade, Century, and, we dare say, perhaps the Third Millennium (if our species manages to survive that long).

The Background:  Scientists studying fusion energy at the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence National Laboratory in Livermore, California blasted a small almost minute nub of diamond encased frozen hydrogen with the power of some 200 giant lasers.  In less than one hundred trillionths of a second, a massive outpouring of neutrons signified a fusion reaction had produced about 50% more energy than was used to create it.  This was the long-sought-for Ignition Event, that signified a new era in History — Humans had harnessed, to an infinitesimally small degree, the mechanism that powers the Sun, the stars, the galaxy, and the Universe, itself.

Top Words of Global English for the year 2022 by The Global Language Monitor follow.

Rank/Word or Phrase/Comments

  1. Denier — Concept encompasses ‘Hater,’ ‘Cancel Culture,’ and the ‘Deniers’ of an ever-expanding list of facts, fallacies, and beliefs.
    Covid — Covid, one of the Top Words in Global English, again
    3. Right to Life — Pro-life position (Compare No. 19)
    4. Ukraine — Top non-Pandemic word in 2022
    5. Zero — In Retail, ‘zero’ used to mean ‘nothing’, but now embodies ‘goodness,’ ‘health,’ and ‘beauty’.
    6. Price of gas/petrol — Gasoline prices up 49% year over year.
    7. Vaccine — No. 2 word of the Pandemic
    8. Variant — Variant after variant after variant
    9. Climate change — One of the top phrases of the CENTURY thus far
    10. Pandemic — Pandemics tend to last for a number of years (or decades)
    11. Supply Chain — Supply chains take decades to set up but can quickly crumble
    12. Booster Dose — Boosted, double boosted, triple boosted …
    13. Diesel — Warning: Civilization does not run on gasoline; it runs on diesel
    14. Cancel Culture — Forced to quit by intense social media pressure
    15. Inflation Definition — Too much money chasing too few goods
    16. Global Warming — Again, one of the top ten words of the century
    17. Democracy — 600% stronger than ‘Democracy at Risk’
    18. Omicron — Coronavirus Omicron variant; the first of many to come
    19. Abortion Rights — A relatively modest position on the list (No. 3, ‘Right to life’ is 400% stronger)
    20. Donald Trump — After years of sparing Joe and the Donald are still neck and neck.
  2. Creative Commons CC 2023 by the Global Language MonitorGlobal Language Monitor began recording the Top Words of the year in 2000 to document the history of the 21st Century through the English language, the world’s first truly global language. The words are culled throughout the English-speaking world, which as of January 2023 stand at 3.85 billion people.

    Global Language Monitor’s official estimate of the number of words in the English language as of November 11, 2022 is:
    1,074,372..4

    English has continued to churn out about 14.7 neologisms per day — about 5366 words a year. However not all words are considered worthy to be added to the most authoritative and respected English-language dictionaries, the unabridged and various editions of: the Oxford English Dictionary (UK), Merriam Websters (US), American Heritage (US), Collins (UK), and Macquarie (AUS).

    Global Language Monitor employs its NarrativeTracker technologies for global internet and social media analysis. NarrativeTracker is based on global discourse, providing areal-time, accurate picture about any topic, at any point in time. NarrativeTracker analyzes the internet, blogosphere, and the top 300,000 print and electronic global media as well as new social media sources as they emerge. In addition, the Global Language Monitor also tracks the Top Words, Phrases, and Names of the 21st Century.

    About Global Language Monitor

    Based in Austin, Texas, the Global Language Monitor collectively documents, analyzes, and tracks trends in Global English, the world’s first truly global language The company is known for its Word of the Year, political analysis, college and university rankings, high-tech buzzwords, and media analytics.

 

For more information, visit Languagemonitor.com.

Paul JJ Payack
Global Language Monitor
+1 737-215-7750
pauljjpayack@gmail.com
Visit us on social media:
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Twitter

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About

glm-logo

In 2003, The Global Language Monitor (GLM) was founded in Silicon Valley by Paul J.J. Payack on the understanding that new technologies and techniques were necessary for truly understanding the world of Big Data, as it is now known.
Today, from its home in Austin, Texas GLM provides a number of innovative products and services that utilize its ‘algorithmic services’ to help worldwide customers protect, defend and nurture their branded products and entities.  Products include ‘brand audits’ to assess the current status, establish baselines, and competitive benchmarks for current intellectual assets and brands.

These services are currently provided to the Fortune 500, Olympic Partners, leading Higher Education institutions, high-tech firms, the worldwide print and electronic media, the global fashion industry, among others.

Contact GLM directly ay  001 737 215 7750 or pauljjpayack@gmail.com or @languagemonitor.

Paul JJ Payack lecturing on Big and Ephemeral Data in Shanghai

Payack was cited as the first Shanghai International Creative City Think Tank Master.

GLM foresees a time in the near future where data doubles every hour, every minute, then every second.

To address this unfolding reality, GLM created the tools you need to address an enterprise in a world never at rest, where the facts can change before you locked your strategy into place, in the world where the social media of today is but a hint of what will emerge in the coming months and years.

GLM’s specialized products and services have been built from the ground up for Big and bigger data,  for a marketplace ever in flux, where the only constant changes.

Belfer Center Logo

To address this unfolding reality, GLM created the tools you need to address an enterprise in a world never at rest, where the facts can change before you locked your strategy into place, in the world where the social media of today is but a hint of what will emerge in the coming months and years.

GLM’s specialized products and services have been built from the ground up for big and bigger data,  for a marketplace ever in flux, where the only constant is change.

 global Language Monitor’s proprietary algorithms (including the PQI and Narrative Tracker) are used to plum ephemeral data on any topic for any industry worldwide, quickly and accurately.  Many organizations have used GLM as an additional input to their already robust analytical solutions.  Call 1 (737) 215-7750 or email PJJP@Post.HarvARD.EDU.

Subprime Meltdown (New York Times)

In 2006, The New York Times worked with the Global Language Monitor to assess the state of the New York City real estate market.  GLM’s used its proprietary POI technology, which The Times described as “an algorithm that tracks words and phrases in the media and on the Internet in relation to frequency, context, and appearance in the global media.”  The study has been hailed as presaging the coming Financial Meltdown, now known as the Great Recession.

The New York Times featuring GLM’s PQI
.

GLM’s Founder on BBC America

GLM as a Source of Record

GLM continues to be cited hundreds of by the leading print and electronic media the world over. In fact, the worldwide print and electronic media have come to rely on The Global Language Monitor for its expert analysis on cultural trends and their subsequent impact on various aspects of culture.

Worldwide print and electronic media have come to rely on GLM for itS Trend Tracking and analytics-based analyses.

BBC Cites GLM for Words of the Decade

At the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the BBC used two global experts to choose the words that would sum up the decades,  represented English as spoken in the UK, the other English as spoken in America, Australia and the rest of the world.

The Global Language Monitor’s president was chosen for Global English as shown below.

A representative sampling includes:  CNN, MSNBC, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Associated Press, United Press International, Knight-Ridder, USAToday, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, The Charlotte Observer, Minneapolis Star Tribune, San Jose Mercury, New York Post, NPR, FoxNews, ABC, NBC, CBS, ChinaNews, Peoples Daily, The National Post, The Sydney Morning Herald, The BBC, the Australian Broadcasting Company, The Canadian Broadcasting Company, The Cape Town Argus, El Pais (Madrid), The Daily Mail (Scotland), The Hindustan Times, The Gulf News (Qatar), and various electronic and print media on six continents.

About Paul JJ Payack

Paul JJ Payack has served as a senior executive of three Fortune 500 high technology companies (Unisys, Dun & Bradstreet, and StorageTek), and three Silicon Valley technology companies (Apollo Computer, Intelliguard Software, Legato Systems) that were acquired by four other Silicon Valley giants (EMC, Dell, Oracle, and HP), as well as numerous start-ups and re-starts.  (For Payack’s Linkedin bio, go here.)

Currently, GLM’s President and Chief Word Analyst, he also was the founding president of yourDictionary.com. These two language sites attract millions of page views a month. He founded GLM in Silicon Valley in 2003 and moved it to Austin, Texas in 2008.

Payack taught scientific and technological communications at the University of Massachusetts, the University of Texas-Arlington and Babson College, the Federal Reserve Bank (NY), GM/Hughes Aircraft, and many others.

He is a frequent guest on the media circuit including CNN, the BBC, NPR, the CBS, Australia Broadcasting Company and Chinese Radio and Television.

Payack is the author of some eighteen collections (seven currently in print), including  A Million Words and Counting, Kensington (New York) as well as co-author with Edward ML Peters of  The Paid-for Option (Tower Oaks Press), an analysis of the healthcare crisis in the USA.  (For a sampling of Payack’s creative work, including metafiction, flash fiction, and collage art, go here.)

Payack studied philosophy and psychology at Bucknell University and was graduated from Harvard University where he studied comparative literature and classical languages, also publishing his first collection of metafiction, A Ripple in Entropy.  Later he earned a CAGS with a focus on fine arts;  his thesis being a Play in Seven Episodes.  Worlds to Shatter, Shattered Worlds.

He currently resides in Austin, Texas with his wife, Millie, and family. Contact Payack directly:  001 737 215 7750 or pauljjpayack@gmail.com or @languagemonitor.

 

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The Global Language Monitor Institute

The Global Language Monitor, the leading Global English portal, has launched the GLM Institute.  The GLM Institute provides a ready means for professionals worldwide to master the essentials of Global English, and to have their efforts certified.  And no knowledge of English is more important that the ability to communicate through the written word.  This is formally known as ‘expository writing’ or more simply, ’exposition’.

Many global professionals have picked up a basic knowledge of English through the Internet, Hollywood movies and music.  However, it is a wholly differing skill to communicate complex thoughts and ideas through the written word.  Lacking this essential skill can prove to be a subtle yet very real barrier to advancement in their education and/or careers.

According to Harvard Business School, those ‘… skilled in management, leadership, & analytical reasoning are in high demand by companies across industries’ and will remain so for the remainder of the decade, and beyond.  And no skill is more strategic to enhancing career prospects than the ability to communicate strategic thinking skills through the adept use of Global English, or even gaining a working knowledge of the world’s first truly global language.  This is the skillset that the Global Language Monitor Institute will provide you in the Essentials of Global English Certificate program.

Developed over forty years, variations of this program have been taught at Fortune 500 companies. colleges and universities, and financial institutions, among others. Portions of this program were developed at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, just outside of Boston.

Six certificates will be available beginning May 2, 2023.

Students can immediately register for the individual courses and will receive a 20% discount for any and all certificates they purchase with their original registration.

The Essentials of Global English program consists of five individual certificates and a final Capstone indicating mastery of the subject.

 

Initial course offerings from the Global Language Monitor Institute follow.

  • Essentials of Global English (CC23-1116)

 — Why English (and not Mandarin, Spanish, or Arabic)?
 — Origin of the Language, a five-thousand year journey
 — Rise to Global Pre-eminence
 — Importance to your education and career

  • Mastering the Million English Words (CC23-1117)

 — An Ever-expanding Verbal Universe
 — The Key Core Vocabulary
 — Dead Languages Are Not Necessarily Dead
 — ‘Sight’ Words
 — Commonly confused Words
 — Marks of distinction

  • Fundamentals of Global Business Communications (CC23-1118)

 — Excellence in use of English propels global acceptance of new products and services
 — Clear Thinking is key to Excellence in Communications
 — Pitfalls to Avoid at All Costs

  • Technical and Scientific Communications (CC23-1119)

 — The Communication Model
 — Five Rules to Remember
 — Lessons from the Ancients, Albert Einstein, and others

  • Approaching the Marketplace of Ideas (Marketing Communications) (CC23-1120)

 — Launching New Products
 — Attacking New Markets
 — Why Most Start-ups Fail
 — Understanding your Marketplace
 — Lessons from History

  • Global English Capstone (CC23-1121)

 — The culmination of the program signifying mastery of the subject.  The program involves reviewing, the entire field with added insight and preparation for further study.

 — The Global English Capstone Certificate is awarded after completing the other modules in the Essentials of Global English program. (The two required courses, CC23-1116 and CC23-1117 and the three elective courses, CC23-1118, CC23-1119, CC23-1120).

All courses are self-paced and must be completed within the allotted timeframe. Courses are priced individually, with significant discounts applied to ‘bundles’ of three or more offerings. (Bundles must be paid for at initial registration.)

Students receive a Certificate of Completion or Certificate of Achievement along with a badge that can be readily added to one’s resumé or CV. Additionally. they can receive the Honor’s marks or ‘With Distinction or ‘With Highest Distinction’ for maintaining appropriate Honors-level grades.

The Global Language Monitor was founded in Silicon Valley in 2003 by Paul JJ Payack on the premise that new technologies were needed to understand the world of Big Data and “…to examine the totality of Global English with the tools now available to better understand the underlying trends that shape our words and, hence, our world. Our goal remains to detect the small changes in the language that often presage titanic shifts in the way humans communicate”.

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Global Language Monitor Names “Denier” Word of the Year 2022 for Global English;

Words of the Pandemic Again Dominate the only list for English Worldwide.

AUSTIN, TX, UNITED STATES, November 11 - 13, 2022   — For the third consecutive year, words of the pandemic dominate the conversation in Global English,

According to Paul JJ Payack, President and Chief Word Analyst of the Global Language Monitor:

Paul JJ Payack, Founder

In the year 2022; we observed three major trends in the development of the English language: 1) The persistence of Pandemic-related words for the third year in a row, 2) the acceleration of the spread of the language ever wider into all corners of the planet, and 3) Global English insinuating itself ever more deeply into the language of academia, science, technology, politics, commerce, transportation, and entertainment.

Top Words of Global English for 2022 by The Global Language Monitor follow.

Rank / Word or Phrase / Comments.
1. Denier — Concept encompasses ‘Hater,’ ‘Cancel Culture,’ and the ‘Deniers’ of an ever-expanding list of facts, fallacies, and beliefs.
2. Covid — Covid, one of the Top Words in Global English, again
3. Right to Life — Pro-life position (Compare No. 19)
4. Ukraine — Top non-Pandemic word in 2022
5. Zero — In Retail, ‘zero’ used to mean ‘nothing’, but now embodies ‘goodness,’ ‘health,’ and ‘beauty’.
6. Price of gas/petrol — Gasoline prices up 49% year over year.
7. Vaccine — No. 2 word of the Pandemic
8. Variant — Variant after variant after variant
9. Climate change — One of the top phrases of the CENTURY thus far
10. Pandemic — Pandemics tend to last for a number of years (or decades)
11. Supply Chain — Supply chains take decades to set up but can quickly crumble
12. Booster Dose — Boosted, double boosted, triple boosted …
13. Diesel — Warning: Civilization does not run on gasoline; it runs on diesel
14. Cancel Culture — Forced to quit by intense social media pressure
15. Inflation Definition — Too much money chasing too few goods
16. Global Warming — Again, one of the top ten words of the century
17. Democracy — 600% stronger than ‘Democracy at Risk’
18. Omicron — Coronavirus Omicron variant; the first of many to come
19. Abortion Rights — A relatively modest position on the list (No. 3, ‘Right to life’ is 400% stronger)
20. Donald Trump — After years of sparing Joe and the Donald still neck-and-neck

21. Joe Biden — After years of sparing the Donald and Joe are still neck and neck
22. Nuclear Weapons — War in Ukraine once again brings issue to the forefront
23. Xi Jinping — Methodically executing China’s long-term policy agenda
24. Metaverse — Where cyberspace and reality collide
25. Civil War — GLM’s been tracking the inCivil War since 2003; predicts re-partition of the US later in the 21st century
26. Vladimir Putin — Under intense pressure to right the ship
27. Pumpkin Spice — Many are surprised to learn, has no pumpkin in it
28. Hater — Key component of hater, denier, Cancel Culture trichotomy
29. Democracy at risk — For the uninformed: Democracy has been at risk since Athens in 404 B.C.
30. Fungible (NFT) — The Letter F in Non-fungible Tokens
31. Regina Elisabetta II — Queen Elisabeth II
32. West Texas Crude — The benchmark price in the world’s most productive Oil Patch
33. Strategic petrol reserve — Set up for wartime emergencies; rapidly being depleted in effort to cut price at the pump
34. Royal Glyph — Perhaps the world’s first emoji; the official signature of the British Crown
35. Shrinkflation — Package gets smaller while the price remains the same; Hershey’s been doing this for 100 years
36. Neopronouns* — Dozens of new pronouns created to engender gender ‘fluidity’
37. Lockdown — Lockdown can feel like being locked up

Creative Commons CC 2022 by the Global Language Monitor

*Here is a list of gender-neutral pronouns:He/She — Zie, Sie, Ey, Ve, Tey, E
Him/Her — Zim, Sie, Em, Ver, Ter, Em
His/Her — Zir, Hir, Eir, Vis, Tem, Eir
His/Hers — Zis, Hirs, Eirs, Vers, Ters, Eirs
Himself/Herself — Zieself, Hirself, Eirself, Verself, Terself, Emself6.Global Language Monitor began recording the Top Words of the year in 2000 to document the history of the 21st Century through the English language, the world’s first truly global language. The words are culled throughout the English-speaking world, which as of January 2023 stand at 3.7 billion people.Official Estimate of the Number of Words in Global English

Global Language Monitor’s official estimate of the number of words in the English language as of November 11, 2022 is:
1,074,372.4

Official Estimate of the Number of English Words Created Every Day
14.7 words Per Day-13

English has continued to churn out about 14.7 neologisms per day — about 5366 words a year. However not all words are considered worthy to be added to the most authoritative and respected English-language dictionaries, the unabridged and various editions of: the Oxford English Dictionary (UK), Merriam Websters (US), American Heritage (US), Collins (UK), and Macquarie (AUS).

Global Language Monitor began recording the Top Words of the year in 2000 to document the history of the 21st Century through the English language, the world’s first truly global language. The words are culled throughout the English-speaking world, which as of January 2021 ranks more than 3.18 billion speakers.

Global Language Monitor employs its NarrativeTracker technologies for global internet and social media analysis. NarrativeTracker is based on global discourse, providing areal-time, accurate picture about any topic, at any point in time.nNarrativeTracker analyzes the internet, blogosphere, and the top 300,000 print and electronic global media as well as new social media sources as they emerge. In addition, the Global Language Monitor also tracks the Top Words, Phrases, and Names of the 21st Century.

About Global Language Monitor

Based in Austin, Texas, the Global Language Monitor collectively documents, analyzes, and tracks trends in Global English, the world’s first truly global language The company is known for its Word of the Year, political analysis, college and university rankings, high-tech buzzwords, and media analytics. For more information, visit Languagemonitor.com.

Paul JJ Payack
Global Language Monitor
+1 737-215-7750
pauljjpayack@gmail.com
Visit us on social media:
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PJJP

Paul JJ Payack

President & Chief Word Analyst
The Global Language Monitor

Austin, Texas 78717
pjjp@post.harvard.edu Private Email
+1.737.215.7750 Phone
@LanguageMonitor Twitter
@pauljjpayack  Personal Twitter
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How 9/11 Changed the Way Americans Speak

Subtle Yet Profound Differences

Some of These Changes Have Only Become More Profound Over the Years

Austin, Texas, USA. September 11, 2021. (Updated) The Global Language Monitor today released an updated analysis of how the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, The Pentagon, and the pending targets in Washington, D.C., widely suspected to be the White House or the Capitol Building, have changed the way Americans speak in terms of vernacular, word choice and tone.

Updating an earlier analysis completed on the Fifth Anniversary of the attacks, it is a continued and historic change in an ‘unCivil War‘ in terms of the vitriolic exchange currently witnessed on the American Political scene.  According to Paul JJ Payack, President and Chief Word Analyst of GLM (www.LanguageMonitor.com), these are a few of the ways where the events of 9/11 have impacted the way Americans speak.

1. 9/11 — The first case is the use of 9/11, itself, as a shorthand for the 2001 terrorist attacks. Using various web metrics, 9/11 outpaces any other name, including the spelled out ‘September 11th” by 7:1 margin. This designation in itself it quite interesting. It is true that Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed the Pearl Harbor attack as “December 7th, 1941 as a day which will live in infamy”. But there were no “12/7” rallying cries thereafter. Neither were the dates immortalized of the original battles of the Korean War, the Gulf of Tonkin Incident which preceded the major escalation of the Vietnam War, The First Gulf War, The Afganistan siege, or even the recent Iraqi Invasion. Only the 7/7 attacks on the London Subway system are recorded in common memory by their date (and primarily in the UK in general,  and London in particular).

2. Ground Zero — The name Ground Zero evokes a sacred place, where the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers once stood. It is also revered as a burial ground since thousands of bodies literally vaporized in the ensuing collapse with no remains found whatsoever. Almost universally, it is capitalized as any other proper name, with a few exceptions, most notably the New York Times. Even recently, The Times insisted on referring to Ground Zero in the lower case, calling it ‘the area known as ground zero’ (Sic).  Names are officially bestowed in a number of ways, most often by bureaucratic committees following arcane sets of rules, answering to few. In this case, we kindly request those bureaucrats to follow the lead of hundreds of millions around the world who have formally bestowed upon that special place, the formal name of Ground Zero.

3. Hero — In mythology, heroes were men and women often of divine ancestry endowed with the gifts of courage and strength. In reality, everyday heroes of the late 20th and early 21st centuries were sports figures (‘Be like Mike’ and ‘Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio’), comic book and cartoon characters ala Superman and Spiderman, and all too frequently ‘anti-heroes’ known for the colossal damage they might inflict upon a helpless (and often hapless) world. Into this tableaux, came the heroes of 9/11, very real men and women, rushing into and up the Towers as everyone else was rushing down and out; rushing the cockpit of Flight 93, with knives and forks and steaming hot coffee, forcing the startled highjackers to abandon their plans of crashing into the Capitol or White House rather than the previously unheralded soil of Shanksville, PA; and the men and women who quietly stood their posts at the Pentagon, just doing their duty, not knowing if they would be subjected to another horrific, and more deadly, attack at any moment. In the post-9/11 world, the term has now come to apply to any who place their lives in danger to foster the public good, especially ‘first-responders’ such as: firefighters, EMTs, and police, who quietly place their lives on the line every day.

4. -stan — The suffix in Persian and related languages that means, literally, ‘land of,’ hence, Afghanistan or Land of the Afghans, or Kurdistan (or Kurdish Territories), or even this relatively new moniker: Londonistan.  Talibanistan, referring to Afganistan and the ‘tribal lands’ in Pakistan in the New York Times Sunday Magazine is the latest instantiation.

5. The unCivil War — Since 9/11 after a very short reprieve, the political discourse of American politics has, arguably, descended to its lowest level since the Civil-War era when Lincoln was typically depicted as a know-nothing, Bible-spouting Baboon. Even speech of the Watergate era was spared the hyperbole commonly heard today, as respect for the institution of the presidency remained high.

Today, political opponents are routinely called ‘liars,’ are typically compared to Hitler, Nazis and Fascists; are accused of purposely allowing New Orleans’ inundation in order to destroy disenfranchised elements of our population, and so on. It is very difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of this reaction. It has been suggested that in the face of a nearly invisible, constantly morphing, enemy, we have turned the attack inward, upon ourselves, and our institutions.

 — Paul JJ Payack

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Rise and Fall of England as an English Language Word Generator

England Once Accounted for a Majority of English-language Neologisms.

New Research Shows that the Number of New Words Generated has Fallen to Fewer Than 10% of the Total

Excerpt from the Report

AUSTIN, TEXAS, UNITED STATES, August 16, 2021 — The Sun might have set on the British Empire but the language continues to expand its global dominance though with fewer contributions from the ‘Sceptre’d Isle’.  This is according to a new study to be released later this fall, by the Global Language Monitor.

English has been hailed as the first truly global language inserting itself into nearly every nook and cranny of modern life, thanks to its conquest of science, technology, education, film, fashion, and communications.

According to GLM, a new word is created every 98 minutes, about 14.7 words a day or 5400 words a year.  As of today, GLM’s estimated number of words number is 1,066,095.9 words.   Google’s Ngram word count of millions of English-language books also lists a similar number of words.  According to a study with Harvard University, the count was 1,022,000 English-language words in 2010, within 1.6% of GLM’s estimate at the time.  The study estimated about 8,000 neologisms/year joining the language, while GLM’s analysis put the number at 5400.  Nevertheless, it is a large and growing language.

English über alles?

One problem with the UK maintaining proper ownership (and dominance) of the language it begot) is that it is becoming a smaller and smaller portion of the English-speaking world.

As the number of English Words has grown, so has the number of nations that have a large number of English-language speakers, each generating unique neologisms to suit their particular needs.

Today, tens of thousands of English-language neologisms bubble up from all corners of the planet each year, but only about 5,000 to 8,000 have enough staying power to make into any of the standard dictionaries, e.g., the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), Collins, Macmillan, Webster’s Unabridged, American Heritage Dictionary, Macquarie Dictionary, among others.

The Global Language Monitor has three distinct criteria that each new word must meet to be included in the English-language corpus, which GLM refers to as ‘depth’ and ‘breadth’.

  • The word must appear in a minimum of 25,000 citations in a variety of media (Internet,  books, newspapers, research, television, radio)
  • The word must appear in geographies dispersed  across the globe
  • The word must appear in differing cultural segments, industries, and/or  demographic groups

According to the latest available statistics, the UK now stands in sixth place on the list of English-speaking countries, as shown below.  Nevertheless, the list below does raise some interesting questions, for example, the UK is No.6?  The U.S., of course, reigns in the top spot, and perhaps, India is in a well-deserved second place, but Pakistan, Nigeria, and the Philippines at Nos. 3-5?

List of Countries by Number of English Speakers

[Note:  due to variations in statistical methods, some totals can appear slightly out of sequence.]

English-Speaking  Nations By Number of  English Speakers

If you are looking at this list from the perspective of a champion of the former British Empire, you can think about this in two ways:

  • Well done good and faithful servant, or
  • Good riddance, fare they well, the Sun has indeed set upon thee ….

As shown below, Modern English, itself, is an amalgam of dozen or more Proto-Indo-European-Languages, Continue reading “Rise and Fall of England as an English Language Word Generator”

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As the Games Wind Down, the Battle Between the Top Partners and Ambushers for the Marketing Gold a “Photo Finish”

Tokyo 2020 Top Partners Vs. Ambushers Arranged Side-by-Side                                     Tokyo 2020 Top Partners Vs. Ambushers Arranged Side-by-Side

Tokyo 2020 Olympics Top Partners and AmbushersTokyo 2020 Olympics Top Partners and Ambushers

Global Language MonitorGlobal Language Monitor

 

The Tokyo Olympics have encountered a host of problems, most of them outside their control. They certainly do not want to be the first Olympics where the Ambushers actually outscored the IOC.”

— Paul JJ Payack, President and Chief Word Analyst of GLM.

AUSTIN, TEXAS, UNITED STATES, August 9, 2021   — To the Global Marketing community, the ultimate Olympic race is that between the Olympic Top Partners The Global Language Monitor (GLM) has released the Official Ambush Marketing Rankings for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics found that the Top Olympic Partners and their ambushers are virtually tied according to their Brand Affiliation Index (BAI) scores. At stake is pride and, of course, tens of billions of dollars in advertising and marketing expenditures that will be allotted for the next several years to the winners.

For comparison purposes, GLM created the Economic Value Unit (EVU) that estimates in dollar terms the size of the value leak for each of the Top Partners during the current quadrennial. In like manner, it estimates the value gained by the NAMs or Ambush Marketers.

“This is the closest race since GLM has been tracking the numbers since the Beijing Games in 2008”, said Paul JJ Payack.. “The Tokyo Olympics have encountered a host of problems, most of them outside of their control. However, they certainly do not want to be the first Olympics where the Ambushers actually outscored the IOC.”

According to the latest numbers, the mean score for The Top Olympic Partners was 71.43 BAI against a 69.94 BAI for the Non-Affiliated Marketers (NAMs). The final numbers will be announced on Saturday, August 14th.

The Top Olympic Partners for Tokyo 2020 follow:
Aliba
Airbnb.
Atos.
Bridgestone.
Coca-Cola.
Dow.
General Electric.
Intel.
Panasonic.
Procter & Gamble.
Samsung Electronics.
Swatch Group (Omega, Tissot).
Toyota
Visa

The Global Language Monitor’s (GLM) Brand Affiliation Index (BAI), is a proprietary, longitudinal study that analyzes the global association between (and among) individual brands and their competitors or, in this case, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The Global Language Monitor measured several dozen factors in the study, closely examining all marketing movements extending from London 2012 to Tokyo 2020. GLM has been tracking the Olympics in this manner since the Beijing Summer Games (2008).

Though official numbers are never released, each Top Partner is believed to pays some 100 million USD to the IOC for the privilege. GLM has found that the actual number is closer to 1,000,000,000 USD for each Olympiad, fully loaded. This includes indirect costs associated with the sponsorship such as an apparently endless number of activities, contests, promotional items, and events.

Earlier in 2020 GLM found that the Tokyo 2020 Games had themselves been ambushed by the coronavirus with a remarkable 92.8% correlation to the ongoing Pandemic.

Over the years we’ve met some unlikely ambushers from cartoon characters (Beijing 2008, Kung-fu Panda) to world leaders on the brink of nuclear war (PyeongChang 2018, Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump) but never did we imagine being ambushed by a raging pandemic,” said Paul JJ Payack, President and Chief Word Analyst for the Global Language Monitor.

The study pulls data from hundreds of millions of data points from across the internet and the top 380,000 print, electronic news media outlets, and social networking sites, analyzing sentiment, context, and several other factors to determine which Olympic Top Partners are most closely associated with the Olympic Games — and which brands are being closely associated with the coronavirus pandemic or both. The complete findings are published in the Tokyo 2020 Ambush Marketing Report, which is now available for order.

Going a step further, the GLM study also includes an analysis on how closely brands and a number of their competitors are being affected by the coronavirus, which has been a global concern in the lead-up to the Tokyo Games. “We actually found a remarkable correlation between the coronavirus and the Worldwide Olympic Partners,” Payack continued. “A number of the Brands (and ambushers), actually had nearly as many citations linked to the coronavirus as to the Games themselves. In a few cases, citations to the coronavirus actually exceeded those to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.”

Early this year, the IOC Executive Board expressed its full commitment to the Tokyo Games, scheduled to take place from July 23 to August 8, reporting that all protective measures are being taken to address the coronavirus situation. Lately, the IOC banned all non-athletic visitors from the Games. This situation has steadily deteriorated.

About Global Language Monitor
Based in Austin, Texas, the Global Language Monitor collectively documents,
analyzes and tracks trends in language usage worldwide, emphasizing the Global English language. GLM is known for its Words of the Year, political analysis, college and university rankings, high-tech buzzwords, and the Top Global Fashion Capitals, as well as major global sports events.

For more information, visit Languagemonitor.com.

Media Contact:
Paul JJ Payack
Global Language Monitor
+1 737-215-7750
PJJP@Post.Harvard.edu

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The Global Language Monitor Has Released the Official Ambush Marketing Rankings for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics

 

This is Global Language Monitor’s Eighth Consecutive Olympic Ambush Marketing Rankings.

AUSTIN, TX, UNITED STATES, August 4, 2021 — The Global Language Monitor (GLM) has released the Official Ambush Marketing Rankings for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. GLM has found that the Top Olympic Partners and their ambushers are virtually tied according to their Brand Affiliation Index (BAI) scores.

The Top Olympic Partners for Tokyo 2020 follow:

  • Alibaba
  • Airbnb.
  • Atos.
  • Bridgestone.
  • Coca-Cola.
  • Dow.
  • General Electric.
  • Intel.
  • Panasonic.
  • Procter & Gamble.
  • Samsung Electronics.
  • Swatch Group (Omega, Tissot).
  • Toyota
  • Visa

GLM’s research has identified the top ambush marketers for each of the Tokyo 2020 Top Partners; many of these, of course, carry over from one Olympiad to the next.

According to the latest numbers, the mean score for The Top Olympic Partners was 71.43 BAI against  69.94 score for the Non-affiliated Marketers. This means that the Non-affiliated Marketers are reaping nearly the same economic benefit despite their lack of official association with the Olympic Games.

The first chart shows each Top Partner with ‘Non-affiliated Marketers’ (NAMs) or ambushers.  The second chart shows both Partners and Ambushers in a single, combined ranking.

The Global Language Monitor’s Brand Affiliation Index (BAI), is a proprietary, longitudinal study that analyzes the global association between (and among) individual brands and their competitors or, in this case, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. In the study, The Global Language Monitor measured several dozen factors, closely examining all marketing movements extending from London 2012 to Tokyo 2020. GLM has been tracking the Olympic Partners since the Beijing Summer Games (2008).

“We’ve met unlikely ambushers from cartoon characters (Beijing 2008, Kung-fu Panda) to world leaders on the brink of war (PyeongChang 2018, Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump) but never a raging pandemic.

 —   Paul JJ Payack, President and Chief Word Analyst of GLM.

Though official numbers are never released, each Top Partner is believed to pay some 100 million USD for the privilege. GLM has found that the actual number is closer to 1,000,000,000 USD for each Olympiad, fully loaded. This includes indirect costs associated with the sponsorship such as an apparently endless number of activities, contests, promotional items, and events.

Of course, in 2020 GLM found that the Tokyo 2020 Games had themselves been ambushed by the coronavirus with a remarkable 92.8% correlation to the ongoing Pandemic.

This is up some eight percentage points from a year ago when the Games were first postponed. This means that in GLM’s global research data, out of every 100 references to the 2020 Summer Games, more some 92 now contained a reference to the coronavirus and/or COVID-19.

For comparison purposes, GLM created the Economic Value Unit (EVU) that estimates in dollar terms the size of the value leak for each of the TOP Sponsors during the current quadrennial. In like manner, it estimates the value gained by the NAMs or Ambush Marketers.

The study pulls data from hundreds of millions of data points from across the internet and the top 380,000 print, electronic news media outlets, and social networking sites, analyzing sentiment, context and a host of other factors to determine which Worldwide Olympic Partners are most closely associated with the Olympic Games, and which brands are being closely associated with the coronavirus pandemic or both. The findings are published in the Tokyo 2020 Ambush Marketing Report, which is now available for order. (See below.)

Going a step further, the GLM study also includes an analysis on how closely brands and a number of their ‘ambush’ competitors are being affected by the coronavirus, which has been a global concern in the lead up to the Tokyo Games.

“We actually found a remarkable correlation between the coronavirus and the Worldwide Olympic Partners,” Payack continued. “A number of the Brands (and ambushers), actually had nearly as many citations linked to the coronavirus as to the Games themselves. In a few cases, citations to the coronavirus actually exceeded those to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.”

Early this year, the IOC Executive Board expressed its full commitment to the Tokyo Games, scheduled to take place from July 23 to August 8, reporting that all protective measures are being taken to address the coronavirus situation. Lately, they banned all non-athletic visitors from the Games. This situation has steadily deteriorated.

About Global Language Monitor

Based in Austin, Texas, the Global Language Monitor collectively documents, analyzes and tracks trends in language usage worldwide, with a particular emphasis upon the English language. The company is known for its Words of the Year,  political analysis, college and university rankings, high-tech buzzwords, and media analytics, and the Top Global Fashion Capitals.

For more information, visit Languagemonitor.com.

Paul JJ Payack

Global Language Monitor

+1 737-215-7750

pjjp@Post.Harvard.edu

Posted on

A Brief Retrospective on the Nature of Truth and Why It Confuses Us So

FLASHBACK — A Brief Retrospective on the Nature of Truth and Why It Confuses Us So

Diogenes Searching For TRUTH in Ancient Greece

 Recently, The Global Language Monitor (GLM) announced that Truth is the Word of the Year for 2017.

Austin, Texas, December 2017.  If you kept abreast of the daily press reports, you would think an outbreak of mass hysteria or at least amnesia had swept over the nations of the West. The world’s leading print and electronic media acted as if the concept of truth had been circumvented, or even, contravened, and sounded alarm after alarm that what we all knew as facts were no longer discernible. The source of this disruption in the news cycle, of course, was what came to be known as fake news and post-truth.

For historical comparisons of a number of the terms used in this analysis, GLM used the Google Ngram Viewer.   You can use the Ngram Viewer to chart frequencies of comma-delimited search strings.  The Google Ngram Viewer uses yearly counts from sources printed between 1500 and 2008, though in some cases later dates of publications are included.

In the first example, frequencies of citations between and among a number of words used to describe the Top Words of the Year for 2016 are plotted between 1940 and the present.

Figure 1. Relative Frequency of citations among words used to describe the Top Words of the Year for 2016

Figure 2. Close-up on Relative Frequency Among Some Top Words of the Year for 2016

Figure 3.  Comparisons of the Words Truth Vs. Lie Since 1740

This is why early in the century, the Global Language Monitor put into place a methodology that clearly states that each considered word or phrase must adhere to the published criteria (see below). The methodology calls for words and phrases from the entire global English linguasphere to be considered, as well as each fulfilling geographic and demographic requirements. This automatically excludes the lists created by those organizations that rely on polls and other such non-scientific tools

A Methodology Optimized for the Wired World -- GLM’s Word of the Year rankings are based upon actual word usage 
throughout the English-speaking world, which now approaches some 2.38 billion people, who use the language 
as a first, second, business language. To qualify for these lists, the words, names, and phrases must meet 
three criteria: 1) found globally, 2) have a minimum of 25,000 citations, and 3) have the requisite ‘depth’ 
and ‘breadth’ of usage. Depth is here defined as appearing in various forms of media; breadth that they must 
appear world-over, not limited to a particular profession or social group or geography. The goal is to find 
the word usage that will endure the test of time.

Global Language Monitor began to use newly available technologies to document the Words of the Year for Global English at the turn of the 21st century, with the idea to encapsulate and capture the essence of the preceding twelve months in a sort of linguistic amber.

Consider for a moment that fact that in 2009 GLM named ‘twitter’ as the Global English Word of the Year, not only as a social media phenomenon but as a potential Weapon of Mass Disruption (or even destruction). Witness: 1) the Arab Spring and 2) the actions of one Donald J. Trump.

Political Correctness

In a time so debilitated by the specter of political correctness (both from the left and the right), it seems rather demeaning to advance the concept of ‘fake news’, once you study its etymology, tracing back the origins of the word ‘fake’.

Cambridge Dictionaries’ definition of fakir: A Muslim (or, loosely, a Hindu) religious ascetic who lives solely on alms. Origin: Early 17th century: via French from Arabic faqīr. Fakir, Arabic Faqīr (“poor”), originally, a mendicant dervish. In mystical usage, the word fakir refers to man’s spiritual need for God, who alone is self-sufficient. Although of Muslim origin, the term has come to be applied in India to Hindus as well.

Fakirs are generally regarded as holy men who are possessed of miraculous powers, such as the ability to walk on fire or to subsist by looking only at the face of God.

In a Languagelog posting by Mark Liberman, How Fakirs Became Fakers, Edmund Wilson comments (from the grave) that Fakirs began to become entwined with fakers with a common usage that arose out of the American spiritualism craze of the 19th century.  This is where one can witness the shift in meaning for the word fakir, from an Islamic religious ascetic to the Hindu “Yogi,” to a sort of street corner or carnival barker or “producer of illusions”.

In other words ‘fake news” joins a long list of ethnic slurs that have imbued American English since before the founding of the republic. They are too many to repeat. However the most common of these might be ‘ethnic-group’ giver’ or ‘ethnic-group rich’. Specifically, using the term fake news could be said to humiliate and/or cast aspersions upon Muslim and/or Hindu holy men. Recent searches of the New York Times found 869 instances of ‘fake news,’ while searches of The Washington Post found 1,352. None mentioned the historical dubiousness of the practice.

You can see this linguistic shift peaking around 1940 and continuing to this day.

Figure 4. Shift in Meaning Between Fakir and Faker During the 1940s

In retrospective, even the whole idea of fake news and post-truth is a bit of an over-reaction. The organizations that were disrupted the most by the appearance of unchecked, non-verifiable and inadequately sourced stories, were those upon which the world came to rely and depend upon to safeguard the information delivered to their audiences as verifiably true. To continue in these roles as stewards of truth, it was incumbent upon them to put into place new methods of testing information.

The unvarnished truth is that the dominant news gathering and distribution organizations fell behind the curve as sources of information multiplied by orders of magnitude. Neither did they comprehend the astonishingly rapid advances in computing power. Finally, the evolution of communication and social media tools advanced far more quickly than the old line media’s ability to adapt to and absorb them.

Decades of reporting on the decline of the US manufacturing base never seemed to register to old media as applicable lessons for themselves. In the mid-’80s, an HBS case study inquired as to which fared better — companies with strategic plans in place or those that had none. The answer: a dead heat. Apparently, companies without strategic plans were able to adjust more quickly to changing market conditions while companies with strategic plans all too often, steadfastly rode these plans straight into oblivion.  (For more information on this phenomenon, check out the first two editions of In Search of Excellence.  Prepare to be shocked.)

What is Truth?

The debate over what is truth has been ongoing since the search for an ‘honest man’ by Diogenes the Cynic, the dialogues of Socrates as recorded by Plato, the rhetorical question Pontius Pilate asked of the Christ, the Confessions of Augustine, the Summa of Aquinas, and the monastic scriptoria of Medieval Europe.

In the scriptoria of the Middle Ages, an elaborate system was constructed to ensure that no discrepancies were introduced into Scripture or highly-prized scholarly works — before the coming of movable type and the printing press. Can you imagine the decibel level of a discussion that played out over the misrepresentation of a single iota when dealing with the work of a Church Father, the Apostle Peter (or Paul), or the words of the Lord himself? This, of course, was complicated by the fact that there were few grammatical rules, little or no punctuation, no spaces between and among words, nor between sentences or paragraphs, and the like.

Even in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Harvard and Yale engaged in the same sort of tussle about the owner of Truth as the Right and Left are engaged in today.  Harvard chose the Latin word Veritas (Truth) on its official seal, while Yale considered the matter closed by adding Lux et Veritas.  (Light and Truth) to its own shield.  Three hundred years later, in an academic world perhaps overly concerned with political correctness, Harvard won top honors for the Top Politically (in)Correct Word of 2016.

Watching the nightly news and reading the traditional (for the last two centuries, that is) media, one has the distinct sense that what they perceive as unprecedented almost chaotic circumstances is actually that of the normalcy of the new reality, that of communications at the speed of light that the internet has foisted upon us.

We keep hearing about this most unusual of election cycles, but this is only true when looking through the prism (and historical construct) of the traditional news gathering operations. What is called the 24-hour News Cycle is actually just the tip of the tsunami washing over the planet at an ever-quicker pace. Indeed, the nature of the beast hasn’t changed at all. It is our outdated techniques, that haven’t kept up with the new reality: News now emanates at the speed of thought, from tens of thousands or, even, millions of sources.

Can you imagine the uproar in the monastic world when documents would be produced with little or no vetting against the time-honored standards?

In 2008 GLM published an article, “Is Merriam-Webster its own Best Frenemy,” where we noted that its newest additions to its Collegiate Dictionary, were older than most entering college students at the time (28 years vs 18!)  Indeed, for the most part, technology could solve most of the Post-truth and Fake News phenomena.

Since the turn of the 21st century, the Global Language Monitor (GLM) has named the Top Words of Global English. A decade earlier, the American Dialect Society began to name the Word of The Year for mostly American (and a bit of British) English with little or no use of the then emerging computer power. By the end of the first decade of the 21st Century, the BBC chose the Global Language Monitor to determine the Top English Words of the Decade worldwide while they chose an UK-based Linguist to highlight those of the UK.

One of the most surprising trends in the evolution of the Words of the Year over the last two decades is that they have become decidedly more parochial, and more trivial, as the century has progressed. Now there are about a dozen players, all competing for the same space, so the race has been one of dumbing down the various nominees and ultimate winner in an apparently desperate attempt to seek the lowest common denominator, or even worse, to optimize entertainment value.

Perhaps most surprising of all is the apparent lack of preparation by the venerable incumbent organizations responsible for gathering, sifting through, and certifying information that then qualifies as verifiably newsworthy.

Apocalyptic language has been widely cited as word of the year worthy for the last several years — and rightly so. In fact, Apocalypse and Armageddon took Global Language Monitors’ honors as Top Global English Words of 2012. And though GLM’s proprietary algorithms have displayed a predictive element, it’s entirely possible that Apocalyptic language did indeed peak some five years too soon.

 

About the Global Language Monitor

In 2003, The Global Language Monitor (GLM) was founded in Silicon Valley by Paul J.J. Payack on the understanding that new technologies and techniques were necessary for truly understanding the world of Big Data, as it is now known.

Today, from its home in Austin, Texas GLM provides a number of innovative products and services that utilize its ‘algorithmic services’ to help worldwide customers protect, defend and nurture their branded products and entities. Products include ‘brand audits’ to assess the current status, establish baselines, and competitive benchmarks for current intellectual assets and brands, and to defend products against ambush marketing.

These services are currently provided to the Fortune 500, the Higher Education market, high technology firms, the worldwide print, and electronic media, as well as the global fashion industry, among others.

For more information, call 1.512.801-6823, email info@LanguageMonitor.com, or visit www.LanguageMonitor.com.


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“Covid-19”, “Work at Home,” and “WHO”: Top Word, Phrase, and Name of the Year 2020 for Worldwide English

The Global Language Monitor Announces that “Covid-19” is the Top Word, “Work at Home” the Top Phrase and “WHO” the Top Name of 2020 for the English Language Worldwide

The Global Language Monitor’s twenty-first consecutive global survey since the turn of the 21st century

Contact: Paul JJ Payack, +1.737.215.7750 or Email — Info@languagemonitor.com or PJJP@post.Harvard.edu

AUSTIN, Texas, January 3, 2021 — The Global Language Monitor (GLM), the data research company, announced that ‘Covid-19’ is the top word, “Work at Home” the top phrase and “WHO” the top name of 2020 for the English Language Worldwide.

The Top Ten Words of 2020 are Work at Home, WHO, Covid-19, Covid, MAGA, Coronavirus, Zoom, New Normal, The Virus and Trade War.  These are followed by Black Lives Matter, Face mask, Corona, Progress, Truth, The Pandemic, Fake News, Sustainability, Donald Trump, Identity Politics, Climate Change, Essential Workers, Lockdown, Joe Biden, and Social Distancing.  For details, see below.

Global Language Monitor (GLM) is the premier data research and media analytics company that documents, analyzes, and tracks trends in language usage worldwide.

Recently, the European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences has characterized the Global Language Monitor Word of the Year Project as ‘objectively providing’ a ‘picture of the world that helps one understand significant trends in the states of minds around the world … [through the detection of] the small changes in language that often presage titanic shifts in the way humans communicate”.

[Quote from Paul JJ Payack, president and chief work analyst for the Global Language Monitor.  Payack is the founding president of both yourDictionary,com and the Global Language Monitor.]

“This Year of the Pandemic has provided a reset to most human activities, and the Word of the Year endeavor has not been immune to its influence and power.  The key question is how do you measure the words to describe this global plague against all the others?  Our answer is to simply record their impact, like any other, — 2020 was already a year of global upheaval.  Indeed, the top pandemic-related words have scored the highest Narrative Tracker Values ever recorded since the very first days of this not-so-young century.”

For the year 2020, GLM took a snapshot of the global language picture some ninety days after the advent of the first national lockdowns, when governments began to recognize the severity of the oncoming pandemic.  This current analysis not only details the top 50 words, phrases, and names but also shows the changes in the word rankings since those first lockdowns.

Biggest Movers Since Beginning of Pandemic                    

Gainers                                                Percent Increase                                                                             

  1. WHO, up 31 %
  2. Work-at-Home, up 56 %          
  3. MAGA. up 91 %
  4. New Normal, up 47 %
  5. The Virus. up94 %                          

The Top Words of the Year 2020 No, 1-25, along with definitions and past and current rankings, follows.

Top Words of 2020 for Worldwide English
Final Word Comment Midyear Change
1 Work at Home The result of social distancing guidelines where employees must stay separated. 29 Up 28
2 WHO WHO – The World Health Organization, the United Nations as the agency overseeing international public health. 35 Up 33
3 Covid-19     The official name of the disease caused by SARS CoV-2; named in WHO’s Int’l Classification of Diseases (ICD).    
4 Covid The shorthand for Covid-19. 1 -3
5 MAGA Make America Great Again:  2016 Campaign slogan of President Trump. 38 Up 33
6 Coronavirus Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Gamma:  the four main groupings of coronaviruses.    Alpha, \ 3 -3
7 Zoom Group meetings held over video conferencing channels. 15 Up 8
8 New Normal Reality of the pandemic-ravaged world. 37 Up 29
9 The Virus Shorthand for Covid-19. 28 Up 19
10 Trade War The economic conflict between China and the US employing tariffs. 9 -1
11 Black Lives Matter A movement protesting police brutality against African Americans.  32 Up 21
12 Face mask Face covering that helps halt the spread of Covid-19 to varying degrees depending on fabric and number of layers. 5 -7
13 Corona From the Latin for ‘crown’.  Compare the Sun’s corona during a total eclipse. 4 -9
14 Progress The concept that Humankind is on the inexorable course toward achieving greater economic and personal freedom. 6 -8
15 Truth Being congruent with reality; real, genuine, conformable with the highest standard or quality. 7 -8
16 The Pandemic The current global pandemic precipitated by SARS-CoV-2. 27 Up 11
17 Fake News Packaged news, planted sources, one-sided exposes, party lines, and official narratives are new phenomena only to those with no sense of history. 38 Up 21
18 Sustainability The ability to create an environment that supplies certain needs without compromising future production. 10 -8
19 Donald Trump Donald J. Trump, the 46th, and current, president of the United States. 18 -1
20 Identity Politics Politics based on individual characteristics, such as skin color or ethnic background, or gender. 13 -7
21 Climate Change Climate change has ranked in the Top Ten for the last dozen years or so. 24 Up 3
22 Essential Workers   Workers whose jobs are important to the smooth running of a political entity, putting themselves at a higher risk of infection. 43 Up 21
23 Lockdown Restricting movement outside homes for locales or geographic districts. 12 -11
24 Joe Biden President-elect of the United States after defeating President Trump. 34 Up 10
25 Social Distancing Distance individuals should keep from each other to lessen risk of virus transmission; a minimum of two meters. 8 -17

 

Read More:  GLM’s Top Words of the Year Record the History of the 21st Century, Thus Far, click here.

Read More:  Top Words of the First Fifteen Year of the 21st Century — and what they portend

Read More:  A Brief Retrospective on the Nature of Truth and Why It Confuses Us So

Read More:  BBC’s Portrait of a Decade 2000-2009

 

Top Words Nos. 26-50 of 2020 for Worldwide English Follow.
Researched, Designed, & Published by The Global Language Monitor 
Final Word  Comment Midyear Change
26 Wet Market Markets for a variety of live, often exotic, highly sought after, sometimes wild, animals in China. 48 Up 22
27 Symptoms Physical conditions that may signify the presence of a virus or illness. 19 -8
28 Progressives The word ‘liberal’ outlived its usefulness as the description of one’s political leanings 14 -14
29 Migrants People moving from one nation, region, or geography to another. 17 -12
30 Quarantine Restricting physical movements to one’s home or institution, often separated from all others. 16 -14
31 Outbreak The seemingly sudden appearance of a disease in a community or  geographic location. 20 -11
32 Shelter-in-place Remain inside your current environment until the crisis has passed. 39 Up 7
33 George Floyd George Floyd, a black American, was killed by a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on his neck for eight minutes.  His death sparked global protests. 31 -2
34 Conservatives Political philosophy that favors saving the best from the past while moving toward the future. 22 -12
35 Unemployment Highest unemployment numbers the US has seen since the Great Recession — and possibly the Depression. 23 -12
36 Hand Sanitizer Washing one’s hands with an anti-bacterial soap for thirty seconds is strong barrier against Covid. 25 -11
37 Stimulus Massive $3 trillion+ funding effort by the US to help keep families (and the economy) afloat. 30 -7
38 CDC The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia. 21 -17
38 White Privilege Supposed advantages carried by Whites by virtue of their ethnic heritage. 26 -12
39 Woke The state of suddenly becoming aware of social injustices in the society. 33 -6
40 Self Isolate To confine oneself in a quarantine-like state for a suggested period of time, usually two weeks. 41 Up 1
41 Disinfectant A chemical agent that kills bacteria. 36 -5
42 Kamala Harris Vice President-elect of the United States. NR NR
43 Wuhan City in Central China, the supposed epicenter of the  CoronaVirus-19 outbreak.   47 Up 4
44 Mike Pence Sitting  Vice President of the United States. 44 0
45 Mitch McConnell Current Majority leader of the US Senate. NR NR
46 Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the US House of Representatives 40 -6
47 Dr. Anthony Fauci Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; key in Covid-19 policy. 49 Up 2
48 Flatten the Curve The movement to change the political balance of the Supreme Court of the United States by adding members with a certain political philosophy. 11 -47
49 Amy Coney Barrett New Associate Justice of the US Supreme court, replacing Ruth Bader Ginsberg, NR NR
50 Antifa A loosely affiliated group of far-left, anti-fascism activists, known as “antifa” in the United States.  NR NR
NR Super spreader Persons or events that carry enhanced disease spreading  capability. 46 NR
NR Impeach Trump The effort to remove a duly-elected or appointed official from office before their term has expired. 44 NR
NR Dr Deborah Birx Coronavirus Response Coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force. 50 NR
Researched, Designed, and Published by The Global Language Monitor

Typically, the Global Language Monitor ranks words, phrases, and names on three separate lists, and the lists are limited to 20 items. For this effort, GLM has combined the lists and extended the word count to 50 items. To view the entire list, go to www.LanguageMonitor.com.

Global Language Monitor began recording the Top Words of the Year in 2000 to document the history of the 21st Century through the English language, the world’s first truly global language. The words are culled throughout the English-speaking world, which as of January 2018 ranks more than 3.12 billion speakers. Global Language Monitor employs its NarrativeTracker technologies for global internet and social media analysis.

NarrativeTracker is based on global discourse, providing a real-time, accurate picture about any topic, at any point in time. NarrativeTracker analyzes the internet, blogosphere, and the top 300,000 print and electronic global media as well as new social media sources as they emerge.

In addition, the Global Language Monitor has also tracked the Top Words, Phrases and Names of the 21st Century.

More information about these and the company can be found at Languagemonitor.com.

About Global Language Monitor

Based in Austin, Texas, the Global Language Monitor collectively documents, analyzes and tracks trends in language usage worldwide, with a particular emphasis upon the English language. The company is known for its Word of the Year, the Top Global Fashion Capitals, political analysis, college and university rankings, high-tech buzzwords, Olympic branding, and media analytics. For more information, visit Languagemonitor.com.

Media Contact:  Paul JJ Payack, +1.737.215.7750; pauljjpayack@gmail.com

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Coronavirus Scorecard: A Worst-Case Scenario from Early February, 2020

 

WARNING:   This was published in early February as a worst-case scenario.  The intent was to alert the world of the on-coming catastrophe. 

The idea was to take the numbers from the Hong Kong Institute of Science and Technology as published in the  journal, Lancet, and to simply extrapolate them forward — if the coronavirus was left unchecked by any human intervention.

GLM PUBLISHED THIS ARTICLE IN EARLY FEBRUARY WHEN THE EMERGING PANDEMIC WAS LARGELY IGNORED BY THE MEDIA, ACADEMIA AND THE ADMINISTRATION

The Original Report Follows:

Please be discreet when distributing.

We are publishing this article only to show the extent of the spread of the virus IF LEFT UNCHECKED. All recent potential pandemics (including Ebola, SARS, and MERS) were stopped due to deliberate action taken by the worldwide medical community (especially the WHO, the CDC, NHC, etc.,) and the proper precautions directed by the relevant government bodies and heroic NGOs.

*********************************************************

ThoughtTopper Institute: The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Calendar

Overview: The news from China is not good. Most recently The South China Morning Post detailed,

“Measures unveiled by the authorities in Beijing and Shanghai on Monday include stricter controls on the movement of residents and vehicles, compulsory mask-wearing and shutting down leisure and other non-essential community services … Beijing Daily reported on Monday that the capital, with a population of over 20 million, would step up efforts to further restrict access to residential communities and compounds and introduce a citywide registration system for entries into Beijing.

In addition, “Officials at the epidemic control and prevention centre in Shanghai said on Monday that “the vast majority” of the city’s 13,000 residential communities and compounds had instituted “lockdown management”, including entry restrictions and mandatory temperature checks.”

Confusion Abounds

According to the New York Times, “on Thursday, officials added more than 14,840 new cases to the tally of the infected in Hubei Province alone, bringing the total number to 48,206, the largest one-day increase so far recorded. The death toll in the province rose to 1,310, including 242 new deaths.

“The sharp rise in reported cases illustrates how hard it has been for scientists to grasp the extent and severity of the coronavirus outbreak in China, particularly inside the epicenter, where thousands of sick people remain untested for the illness.”

Furthermore, some investigators have suggested that the number of new cases was leveling off and will, in fact, peak and level off in the next few weeks. One study actually picked a date (February 23); mark your calendar.

Projections from Published Numbers

The COVID-19 Calendar is based on the data provided by the British medical journal The Lancet working with data supplied to them by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), and the National Health Commission (NHC) of China, among others. The Global Language Monitor is not responsible for any of the data — only with the extrapolation of the data.

Note: Tip of the Ice Berg? These extrapolations in themselves are hypothetical and should be taken as such. These numbers assume that the number of infections has been substantially under-reported, due to a number of factors.

This data was gathered with an abundance of caution after studying the various numbers coming out of Wuhan. The projected numbers are published herein because these results have been assiduously avoided in the media in all forms.

Obviously, COVID-19 cannot expand indefinitely as in the extrapolation above. Typically, these pandemics either burn themselves out or a halted through Human intervention. The gravest predictions now top out at a 60% infection rate for the entire Human population. Rest assured, that this has never happened in all recorded history.

Origin of Graphics, The Lancet

This ThoughtTopper Institute publication was compiled by Paul JJ Payack, President and Chief Word Analyst of the Global Language Monitor.

About Global Language Monitor

Based in Austin, Texas, the Global Language Monitor is a data research organization. For more information, visit Languagemonitor.com. For more information call +1.737.215.7750 or email Info@languageMonitor.com

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Global Language Monitor Announces That ‘Covid’ is the Top Word of 2020

Global Language Monitor Announces That ‘Covid’ is the Top Word of 2020 (Top 50 #WOTY Ranked)

Global Language Monitor Announces That 'Covid' is the Top Word of 2020

AUSTIN, Texas,

July 6, 2020 (Newswire.com)

 

 

 

Global Language Monitor (GLM), the data research company that documents, analyzes, and tracks trends in language usage worldwide, has announced that Covid is the Top Word of 2020 in its mid-year update.

“It’s no surprise that ‘covid’ has risen to the top of the rankings,” said Paul JJ Payack, President and Chief Word Analyst of GLM. “However, ‘covid’ has received the highest number of citations ever recorded in our global survey. In fact, ‘covid’ has outranked all previous Words of the Year in the 21st century by a factor of 100, or more.”

Covid is the commonly used shorthand for the shorthand for Covid-19. Covid-19 is the official name of the virus caused by the SARS CoV-2 virus, so named in WHO’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD).

Covid-19 is ranked No. 2 on GLM’s mid-year update. The Top Ten Words of the Year (#WOTY) for 2020 include Covid, Covid-19, Coronavirus, Corona, Face mask, Progress, Truth, Social Distancing, Trade War, and Sustainability.

Top Words of the Year of 2020 (#WOTY2020) mid-year update follow (Rank, Word, Definition/Comment).

Please Note:  Typically, the Global Language Monitor publishes the Top Twenty Words in its rankings.  In this #WOTY2020 mid-year update, for the historical record, we are extending the published rankings to the Top Fifty. 

Global Language Monitor
Top Words of 2020 for Global English (Mid-year Update
Rank Word   Definition
1 Covid The shorthand for Covid-19 has the largest number of citations ever recorded in the 21st century.
2 Covid-19 The name of the virus caused by the SARS CoV-2 by   WHO’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD).
3 Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 full name of virus that causes Covied-19.
4 Corona From the Latin for ‘crown’.  Compare the Sun’s corona during a total eclipse.
5 Face mask A face covering that helps halt the spread of Covid-19 to varying degrees depending on the material and number of layers.
6 Progress The belief that society moves ever towards betterment
7 Truth The idea that there is an objective, discernible reality for humans to discover and cherish.
8 Social Distancing The distance individuals should keep from each other to lessen risk of virus transmission, usually about 2 meters or six feet.
9 Trade War Colossal struggle between US and China with worldwide repercussions.
10 Sustainability Creating an environment that supplies certain needs without comprmising future production. 
11 Flatten the Curve The ability to manage the number of case so as to not overwhelm the hospital system.
12 Lockdown Restricting movement outside home or district.
13 Identity Politics Politics based on certain elements of one’s makeup, such as skin color or ethic background, or gender.
14 Progressives The word ‘liberal’ outlived its usefulness as the description of one’s political leanings.
15 Zoom Group meetings held over videoconferencing channels.
16 Quarantine Restricting physical movements to one’s home or institution, often separated from all others.
17 Migrants People moving from one nation to another.
18 Donald Trump Donald J. Trump, the 46th president of the US.
19 Symptoms Physical conditions that may signify the presence of a virus or illness.
20 Outbreak The seemingly sudden appearance of a disease in a community or geographic location.
21 CDC The Centers fo Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia.
22 Conservatives Political philosophy that favors saving the best from the past while moving toward the future.
23 Unemployment Highest unemployment numbers the US has seen since the Great Recession — and possibly the Depression.
24 Climate Change Climate change has ranked in the Top Ten for the last dozen years or so. 
25 Hand Sanitizer Washing one’s hands with an anti-bacterial soap for thirty seconds is a strong barrier against Covid-19.
26 White Privilege Supposed advantages carried by Whites by virture of their ethnic heritage.
27 The Pandemic Current global pandemic precipitated by SARS-CoV-2.
28 The Virus Shorthand for Covid-19.
29 Work at Home The result of social distancing guidelines where employees must stay separated from each other.
30 Stimulus Massive $3 trillion+ funding effort by the US Federal Government to help keep families (and the economy) afloat.
31 George Floyd George Floyd, a black American, was killed by a police officer kneeling on his neck for some eight minutes in Minneapolis.  His death sparked global protests.
32 Black Lives Matter A movement protesting police brutality against African-Americans.  
33 Woke The state of suddenly becoming aware of social injustices in the society.
34 Joe Biden Presumptive presidential nominee of the Democrat Party against President Trump.
35 Wuhan Largest city in Central China, capital of Hubei Province, population 11,000,000; original epicenter of the Covid-19 outbreak.
36 WHO WHO – World Health Organization was established in 1948 by the United Nations as the agency overseeing international public health.
37 Disinfectant A chemical agent that kills bacteria.
38 New Normal The new reality of the pandemic-ravaged world.
38 MAGA Campaign slogan of President Trump in 2016.
39 Fake News Packaged news, planted sources, one-sided exposes, party lines, and official narratives are a new phenomenon only to those with no sense of history.
40 Shelter-in-place Being confined to one’s home or institution to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
41 Nancy Pelosi The Speaker of the House of Representatives; the highest ranked Democratic office holder.
42 Self Isolate Quarantined for a minimum of 14 days after being exposed to Covid-19 to help stop the spread of the virus.
43 Dr. Anthony Fauci Dr. Anthony Fauci is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
44 “I Can’t Breathe” The last words uttered by George Floyd as he lay dying at the hands of Minneapolis police.
45 Essential Workers    Those workers who perform ‘essential’ tasks during the coronavirus pandemic, most notably in healthcare, food production and distribution, and the service sector.
46 Wet Market Outdoor markets that offer recently slaughtered meat, fish and poultry; sometimes including live animals.
47 Impeach Trump The Trump impeachment effort ended with a vote of acquittal on February 5, 2020, just as the pandemic was taking off in the US, 
48 Defund Police A movement to re-focus police departments to social welfare duties.
49 Super Spreader A single person or event that propagates ‘clusters’ of the outbreak.   Some 20% of infected super spreaders could be responsible for 80% of viral transmission.
50 Dr. Deborah  Birx Dr. Deborah Birx is the  Coronavirus Response Coordinator, White House Coronavirus Task Force.
The Global Language Monitor

 

Typically, the Global Language Monitor ranks words, phrases, and names on three separate lists, and the lists are limited to 20 items. For this effort, GLM has combined the lists and extended the word count to 50 items. 

Global Language Monitor began recording the Top Words of the Year in 2000 to document the history of the 21st Century through the English language, the world’s first truly global language. The words are culled throughout the English-speaking world, which as of January 2018 ranks more than 2.58 billion speakers. Global Language Monitor employs its NarrativeTracker​ technologies for global internet and social media analysis.

NarrativeTracker is based on global discourse, providing a real-time, accurate picture about any topic, at any point in time. NarrativeTracker analyzes the internet, blogosphere, and the top 300,000 print and electronic global media as well as new social media sources as they emerge.

In addition, the Global Language Monitor has also tracked the Top Words, Phrases and Names of the 21st Century.

More information about these and the company can be found at Languagemonitor.com.

About Global Language Monitor

Based in Austin, Texas, the Global Language Monitor collectively documents, analyzes and tracks trends in language usage worldwide, with a particular emphasis upon the English language. The company is known for its Word of the Year, political analysis, college and university rankings, high-tech buzzwords, and media analytics. For more information, visit Languagemonitor.com.

Media Contact:

Paul JJ Payack​
info@languagemonitor.com

pjjp@post.Harvard.edu

1 737.215.7750

Source: Global Language Monitor

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Categories: International News, General Interest

Tags: 2020, data research, Global Language Monitor, language, Top Words of the Year, trending, trends, WOTY2020

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The Plague: The Imminent Danger (and increasing threat) of the “Super Spreader” Phenomenon

Commentary by Paul JJ Payack

    Paul JJ Payack

There is a very real and imminent threat of the emergence of “Super Spreaders” from the coronavirus pandemic.  This threat appears to be largely overlooked in an analysis of the news media recently completed by Austin-based Global Language Monitor, the data research company.

This risk of the emergence of ‘super spreaders’ has been significantly heightened  by three factors:  the gradual re-opening of the American economy, people flocking to summertime activities after Memorial Day, and the mass protests that have arisen since the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department on May 25th, 2020.  

Official statistics concerning the number of protesters have not been officially tallied, but it is reasonable to assume that there have been more than 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 participating in the US-based protests with another 500,000 in the rest of the world. The period of the protests continues lasted about two weeks ending with the march on Washington, on June 6, 2020.  Many participated on multiple days, multiplying chances of exposure.  

There has been significant research in the clustering and superspreader phenomena particularly since the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

On-going research, such as “Clustering and superspreading potential of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in Hong Kong” are currently in the process of peer review,  This and other similar studies are being posted online before the completion of the peer review process because of the severity of the on-going crisis.

The study suggests that most new cases of Covid-19 are propagated by ‘superspreaders’ and not by direct contact or one-on-one transmission.   Researchers assessed more than 1,000 infections in Hong Kong between January 23 and April 28.   The authors used intense contact tracing to determine the manner in which persons were infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19.   Other researchers have found that some 20% of Covid-19 carriers are responsible for about 80% of disease transmissions

Scientists tracking the new coronavirus’ spread have generally focused on two numbers:  reproduction number (Rο) pronounced ‘R-nought), which represents the average number of new infections caused by a single infected person. The second is called the dispersion factor (k), a number indicating the likelihood that a particular disease will spread in clusters.

Without any social distancing, the new coronavirus’ R-number, according to the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), is around 2.6 - 3.5 

This is where the K factor, measuring dispersion, comes into play. As opposed to the R number, the lower the lower the K number, the more likely it is the virus is propagated by small group of people.

Recent evidence concerning super spreading events abounds:  a meeting of pharmaceutical executives in Boston;  a house party in Westport, Connecticut; and a choir practice in Washington State, among many others.  Each of these smaller events resulted in the transmission of the virus to scores or hundreds of individuals.

Perhaps the most well-known of the current crop of superspreaders is the unnamed bartender at an Austrian Ski Resort.  Contact tracing found some 1300 infections in a number of countries traced to this particular transmitter.  Infections were traced to Iceland, Norway, Austria, and Germany.

Also of note is the finding that the key method of transmission appears to be exercising one’s lungs:  talking, singing, shouting, and speech-giving.  This makes any large gathering problematic in the extreme; whether cheering at a Trump rally, singing on a beach or shouting at a protest.

There is some concern that the fact of the potential exponential progression of the transmission of Covid-19. is not being widely discussed in the media, as shown below.  

The first graphic shows that as the Coronavirus Rapidly Spread in January, the pandemic that would ultimately take the lives of some 100,000 Americans by Labor Day, was treated as an after thought, the News Media was Focused on the Impeachment of President  Trump by a 10:1 Margin (Source: Google Trends).  

The second graphic shows that after the killing of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police on May 25, the news media, overlooked the potential  for the exponential growth of the virus led by the superspreader phenomenon.  The ratio was 2:1 protests vs. Covid-19 stories, with virtually no mention of the inherent danger of the superspreader phenomenon.

 

According to Preliminary Estimation of the Basic Reproduction Number of Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in China, “The mean estimate of R0 for the 2019-nCoV ranges from 2.24 to 3.58, and is significantly larger than 1” 

This is especially troubling since a recent article in the New York Times,  an epidemiologist  opined  about the number of infections that could be attributed to the recent protests are based on his assumption that  “Over several weeks, as each infected person infected just under one other person on average — the current U.S. transmission rate — those infections would in turn lead to 15,000 to 50,000 more, and 50 to 500 eventual deaths”.   The article does not mention the possibility of the Superspreader Phenomenon.

If the effective R nought rate is indeed closer to that found in the HKUST study and if superspreaders lurk in the midst of these crowds,  both of which seem likely, than the number of infections would increase by a factor of ten, or more.

The New York Times article concluded that “Societal benefit of continued protests must be weighed against substantial potential impacts to health.”  According to the CDC,  some 60% of those deaths would be suffered by persons of color.

In another study, Clustering and superspreading potential of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in Hong Kong,  Benjamin  Cowling of Princeton University, one of the study coauthors, told Business Insider, “Superspreading events are happening more than we expected, more than what could be explained by chance. The frequency of superspreading is beyond what we could have imagined”.

Study the figure below: Transmission network associated with a single wedding exposure subsequently linked to a preceding social gathering and local source exposure.  Again, the graphic was based on contact tracing in Hong Kong.

From:  Clustering and superspreading potential of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in Hong Kong

Now consider the timely and very real example  of  the infamous Philadelphia Parade at the height of the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918.

 

A huge parade was scheduled in the summer of 1918, the height of the Spanish Flu epidemic, to take place in the heart of Philadelphia.  It purpose was to raise money to support the ‘dough boys’ that had recently been shipped off to Europe to end the stalemate of the horrific ‘trench warfare’.  

Some 200,000 people thronged Broad Street on parade day, along a two-mile route; they cheered as the procession passed along the route.  The unintended result:  within a few days, every hospital bed in he city was occupied.  Within a week, nearly 3,000 died.  Ultimately some 20,000 would die.

The parade was for worthy cause:  The ending of the Great War.  World War I ended with a death toll of some 20,000,000.

Was participating in this colossal event, showing one’s commitment to the cause, to help change the course of world events worth the risk?  Most, at the time,  would have answered yes.

 

For Other Articles on Covid-19, click here. 

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OK: Everything is Going to be O.K.

Most Recognized Word on the Planet: OK or O.K. or Okay

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U.S. President Martin Van Buren (A.D. 1837–1841) was born in Old Kinderhook, New York. His nickname, Old Kinderhook, was incorporated into his campaign slogan (“Old Kinderhook is O.K.”) and O.K. Democratic Clubs sprung up around the young nation. Van Buren was a founding member of the Democratic Party. (He was overwhelmingly defeated by the Whigs in his re-election attempt in 1840.)

Presaging O.K. Democratic Clubs, was the pronunciation of the phrase ‘oll korrect’ in a bit of humerous wordplay found in the Boston Post newspaper in 1839.

Didn’t you ever wonder why the word consists of two capital letters? OK is now widely heard wherever one sets foot on the planet.

Alternative derivations, since disproven, suggested that OK was from the Greek phrase ola kala for ‘all well’ used in the shipping industry. Another, actually favored by president Woodrow Wilson, was that OK was derived from the Choctaw ‘okeh’.

However, what is sure is that the U.S. Presidential Election of 1840 secured its growing usage and subsequent global expansion during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Another lesser known catalyst to the word’s present ubiquitous, is the the global dominance of the software of the Microsoft Corporation.  Some 80% of its computer programs that are ‘localized’ into native languages use the English word OK to assert completion or assent.

OK?

 — Paul JJ Payack

See Bushisms

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The Tangles of Time: A Brief History of Chess

A Brief History of Chess

Author’s Note: I wrote this aimost fifty years ago, during the Bobbie Fisher- Boris Spassky World Chess Championship held in Reykjavík, Iceland in 1972.

This was the beginning of the chess boom that continues to this day. You can’t call it a revival, because previous to this, chess was a fringe activity, at best, played by old men on park benches arguing in Yiddish, nerds before they were known as such, and pipe-smoking, well-to-do elder gentlemen player one other on seculded leafy estates.

I was captivated by the match and who wouldn’t be: the ‘Free World’ vs. the Soviet Communists, a brash, ill-mannered young American vs. the gentlemanly Grandmaster of old-school ways and traditional chess thinking. I went out bought every chess book I could find in Harvard Square and at the Chess Shop on Newberry Street (including the infamous Blue Book of Chess. At that time, the Blue Book recorded every move in evey championship match from the days of Lasker onward.. I also picked up a championship-scaled chessboard with the requisite ivory-styled pieces, a chess clock, and the like. But the one thing I could not find was a definitive History of Chess.

So I decided to write one myself. After countless hours of research (no internet, nor on-line journals, no Wikipedia, just Harvard’s Widener Library’s dusty stacks, I drafted The Tangles of Timee: A Short History of Chess over that summer and now present it to you here.

 — Paul JJ Payack

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Chess yields us, when we need them most

Companions in our loneliness.

—Mu’ Tazz

As masterful a player as Emmanuel Lasker regarded chess as neither an art nor a science but rather a war in which the pieces served as troops and the players the generals. This stemmed from the notion that chess was invented as a war game and so, that is the manner in which it should executed. Undoubtedly reality is reflected in the idea that chess originated either as an aid or substitute for warfare.

Lasker maintained that to understand its creation all that is needed is an understanding of the method of classical warfare. Lasker explained that opposing armies would take their positions in nearly straight lines separated by a nearly level plain. The generals, in order to make their plans comprehensible to their commanders, would sketch the original position and later movements of their pawns and men. Lasker was fond of using the Battle of Cannae, 216 BC, as an illustration. At Cannae, the Carthaginians under the command of Hannibal defeated a Roman force nearly twice their number with superior strategy.

Lasker thought that it was entirely possible that Hannibal not only drew lines and placed stones on a board to explain his stratagems, but did so on what would one day be called a chequer-board. This was given the now familiar shape of a square divided into sixty-four smaller squares, colored black and white alternately. Though Lasker’s contention that chess was invented as a game of war is undoubtedly true, he seems to have postdated its conception by some eight centuries and misplaced it by several worlds.

After a millennium passed in the Buddhist era, various references occur to a game that seems the direct forbear of present-day chess. According to Sanskrit literature, apart from the central king and counselor, the pieces represented the quadrants of the ancient Indian army: war chariots, cavalry, elephants, and foot soldiers. The Upper Basin of the Ganges, or thereabouts, was the locale where

this game first appeared. Since the area was a Buddhist stronghold, it is not unreasonable to assume that their monks had a hand in its inception. Since Buddhists oppose the killing of any form of life, it can be hypothesized that the game was invented as a bloodless substitute for war (by allowing men to engage in a combat of a higher sort).

In this version the infantrymen moved as pawns of all times and places, excepting the modern two-square debut. The cavalrymen were placed and manipulated in the same manner as the knight. The elephants’ movements were diagonal and limited to two squares, therefore they were inherently weaker than the bishops into which they were later transformed. The chariots were equal in every respect to the castles which through some ripple in history came to be called rooks. And the counselor, beside the king, moved diagonally also and only one square per move; as time passed its powers were increased to that of the bishop, thereby considerably enhancing the complexity of the game.

Chess spread rapidly (in historical terms) from the Subcontinent to the curiously diverse cultures further west, each leaving ineradicable traces of their time and culture. Persia bestowed the name to the game. Words, unlike mathematical formulae, both lose and gain in their sojourn through time and place. Aside from the usual etymological eddies, the development of the name flowed as follows. The Persian shah “king” came through the Arabic and the tangles of time to Europe as, among other variations, the Old French (e)sches, plural of (e)schek “check” derived from “shah.” From there it was but a minor simplification to the Saxon and Modern English word “chess.”

The culmination of this bloodless substitute for bloodletting is the murder of the enemy king, although the modern game ends euphemistically with the checkmate. This term, too, can be traced through a millennium to Persia. Shah mat “checkmate” means ‘the king (shah) is dead,’ where “mat” is related to the Latin stem mort- “death” found in “mortuary.”

Within a generation of the Hegira, the Arabs conquered Persia in the sacred name of Mohammed. As is usually the case, the two cultures became inextricably entwined and from that time forward it was the Islamic culture that became the primary vehicle of chess. As the game was carried from land to land it underwent a series of transmutations, some surprising and some not so surprising at all.

The Elephant was reduced to its ears. That is it was simplified (for reasons of convenience and religion) to a lump of wood, with a cut extracted from its center. An item of far more interest concerns the Arab rukh which predates the English rook for crow. It is still a matter of some controversy whether the rook was actually a chariot, a bird, or even a ship. It is highly probable that in differing cultures in differing centuries it was each.

In Arabia there seems little doubt that the chariot was replaced by a moderately prominent member the then-current mythology. In Arabian Nights the rukh was an enormous bird of gigantic girth which was inordinately wide of wing; a vast magnification of the eagle or condor. In most variations, the bird had the ability to carry an elephant, and sometimes several, in its talons. The thread of interest that lies about and through all variations of the rukh myth is that it was, whatever else, a deadly enemy of the elephant. (Later, with the aristocratization of chess, the elephant would be transformed into an ecclesiastic.)

Soon chess was a commonplace throughout the world of Islam, from Andalus in the West to the Indus in the East. The Moors carried chess to the Iberian Peninsula during the eighth century of the Christian era, and the Eastern Empire in Byzantium also learned of the game before the century had waned. From Iberia it spread to the north of Europe, while Russia seems to have acquired the game directly from India. (In Russian chess bears its original name, shakh-maty.)

During the High Middle Ages chess became a leisure time activity of the feudal lords, and the pieces began to resemble the aristocracy. (The rukh became, curiously enough, a castle.) A knowledge of ‘Nights and Days’ was considered a social grace for every genteel and parfait knight. Obviously, one reason for this was the connection between chess and war. Soon the powers of certain pieces were increased,making the game much more lively or, if you prefer, deadly.

That lump of wood with the split was not recognized in Europe as an elephant. This was understandably so, since to the folks of medieval Europe an elephant was just as much a mythological creature as the rukh, and possibly more so. To those who were unaware of its esoteric meaning, the elephant, also suggested a bishop’s mitre, an old man, a count or a fool. To this day in French the man is called Le Fou “the fool” and it is diagramed as a cap and bells.

The English, however, were the first to introduce chess diagrams to printing and since the piece remained a bishop there (and in Iceland) the bishop’s mitre would soon become the worldwide standard. However, Germans use this now universal symbol for their laufer “runner” while Russians use the mitre for their slon “the elephant.”

The evolution of the king’s counselor into the queen has been attributed to the similarity of the Arabic word fere “advisor,” to the French vierge “maiden” but probably can be more simply attributed to the make-up of the feudal court. A parallel between the historical liberation of women and the glorification of Mary by the Church could also have been factors in the metamorphosis.

And finally, a mention should be made of pawns; those so adequately named pieces which are even denied the status of chess ‘men’. They are, without exception in all cultures, represented by conveniently small and humble objects. For these there seems a universal need. History: read it and weep.

There are some 1.7 x 10 to the 29th methods of playing the first ten moves of this ancient and storied game. (The Greeks, clever as they were, didn’t even possess a symbol or number for any number larger than ten to the fourth, a myriad.) This being so, it becomes comprehensible why, while chess has ebbed and flowed through history, it has never been successful as a method of channeling the human mind to that combat of a higher sort.

To be sure, there have been wars of every possible description since its inception some thirteen hundred years ago, and when the number of possible permutations is envisioned even in this relatively simple game, it becomes obvious why there is more than adequate room for that phenomenon, war, in the universal scheme of things. This nightmare, even when contained by a square of sixty-four smaller squares, has the potential to continue in a million billion varying guises for eons on end (and still there would remain variations untried).

When one of the first Caliphs, Omar b. Al-Khattab, was asked if chess were lawful he replied, “There is nothing wrong in it; it has to do with war.”

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Coronageddon: Words of the Pandemic You Need to Know

Newsflash! 4.5.20 — Social Distancing: New Research Suggests Social Distancing Guidelines Seriously Underestimate Dispersal Distance and Survival Rate of Pathogen-bearing Gas Clouds. New tests show travel distances of up to 24 to 27 feet with the pathogens further dispersed by wind or air currents. They are believed to remain dangerous for three or more hours..

Coronavirus gas cloud; click on this link to see this frightening video.

The Bottom Line: “turbulent gas clouds and respiratory pathogen emissions pose a threat to the public even without the presence of a host. In other words: the longer an individual is outside unprotected, the higher the contraction risk,” said MIT associate professor Lydia Bourouiba.

‘Words of the Pandemic’ glossary and explainer has been released by the Global Language Monitor. 

“As with other global and significant events, GLM has assembled ‘The Words of the Pandemic’ explainer, a glossary of the essential terms the educated layperson needs to know to better understand the significance of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic as it unfolds.” said Paul JJ Payack, President and Chief Word Analyst of the Global Language Monitor. 

The “Words of the Pandemic” explainer will be continuously updated. 
Below is the list of currently defined terms.

Term      Definition

Asymptomatic – Those who test positive for Covid-19 who present no immediate symptoms.

Black Death — The most devastating pandemic recorded in human history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 75-to-200 million people in Eurasia, peaking in Europe from 1347 to 1351.

CDC — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Located in Atlanta, Georgia, the CDC is part of the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Contagion — The definition of contagion is an infectious disease spread through contact, or the transmission of a disease from one person to another through contact, or the spread of a bad or harmful idea or practice

Corona – A crown or anything resembling a crown.  Also, the ring of highly charged ions surrounding the Sun that is visible during a total eclipse.  Under an electron microscope, the coronavirus outer surface resembles a crown.  Before the invention of the electron microscope, pandemic had more prosaic names such as the Black Death or Spanish Flu.

Covid-19 – The disease caused by the n-coronavirus-19 virus.  Officially named:  SARS-CoV-2.  n-coronavirus-19 is the medical classification of the current pandemic.

Endemic — A medical condition, regularly found a particular group or population.

Epicenter – The precise center of an earthquake or activity, or phenomenon.  The epicenter of Covid-19 is Wuhan China.

Epidemic — An outbreak of disease that spreads quickly and affects many individuals at the same time.

Epidemiology — the branch of medicine that investigates the causes and control of epidemics.

Exponential Growth — Growth whose rate becomes ever more rapid in proportion to the growing total number or size.

Flatten the Curve — Keeping people apart in time and space with social distancing measures, self-isolation and actual quarantine decreases opportunities for transmission.  The graphic below illustrates the effects of flattening the curve — a steep peak indicating a surge of coronavirus outbreak in the near term; the other has a flatter slope, indicating a more gradual rate of infection over a longer period of time.  The gentler curve results in fewer people infected at the beginning of an epidemic.  In effect, lessening the probability of a ‘’surge’ that would inundate a hospital system, as was recently occurred in Northern Italy.  The idea is to provide more time for a healthcare system to ramp up supplies, develop new medicines, and medical procedures.

Ground Zero — The location where the first case occurred, another term for ‘epicenter’.

H1N1 — The current strain of H1N1 consists of genes already found in existing variations of swine, avian and human flu viruses.

Inanimate Objects – So-called “seeds of disease” are able to transfer disease from one person to another.  In that new NEJM study, here’s the finding on coronavirus:  The coronavirus that causes covid-19 “was detectable … up to four hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel.”  Glass such as the ‘Gorilla Glass’ used for smart-phone displays are said to carry the virus for 10-days. 

Incubation Period — The time from exposure to a virus to the appearance of the symptoms.

Influenza — A serious disease caused by viruses that infects the upper respiratory tract.

Influenza Pandemic — A global outbreak of a new influenza ‘A’ virus that is easily transmitted from person-to-person worldwide.

Mutating Virus — In general, any flu virus mutates and evolves mechanisms that enable it to escape the immune defense systems of its victims. Scientists have now identified some six strains of the virus that causes Covid-19. 

Outbreak – Sudden increase in occurrence of disease in a particular place or locality.

Pandemic – an epidemic occurring over a wide geographic area and affecting an exceptionally high proportion of the population. 

Pandemic Phases — WHO has divided pandemics into six phases.  (See Figure.)

Pandemic Phase 1 — Low risk of human cases.  No viruses circulating among animals have been reported to cause infections in humans.

Pandemic Phase 2 — Higher risk of human cases.  An animal influenza virus circulating among domesticated or wild animals is known to have caused infection in humans and is therefore considered a potential pandemic threat.

Pandemic Phase 3 — No or very limited human-to-human transmission.  An animal or human-animal influenza re-assortant virus has caused sporadic cases or small clusters of disease in people but has not resulted in human-to-human transmission sufficient to sustain community-level outbreaks.

Pandemic Phase 4 — Human-to-human transmission of an animal or human-animal influenza reassortant virus able to cause “community-level outbreaks.” Implementation of a rapid pandemic containment operation is warranted. Phase 4 indicates a significant increase in risk of a pandemic.

Pandemic Phase 5 — Evidence of significant human-to-human transmission.  Human-to-human spread of the virus into at least two countries in one WHO region.  While most countries will not be affected at this stage, the declaration of Phase 5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short.

Pandemic Phase 6 — Efficient and sustained human-to-human transmission. This pandemic phase is characterized by community level outbreaks in at least one other country in a different WHO region in addition to the criteria defined in Phase 5. Designation of this phase indicates that a global pandemic is under way.2q

Pangolin – A scaly anteater; a toothless mammal found in Asia and Africa that is thought to have passed the coronavirus from horse bats to humans.  Pangolins were suspected of being sold in an open-air to be ingested by humans.

Plague – The plague is an infectious disease due to a bacterium called Yersinia pestis. Y. that mainly infects rats and other rodents.

Quarantine – Isolating individuals to prevent the spread of infection diseases.

Quarantine in Place – Isolation for a two-week period after exposure to someone with Covid-19.

R0 — Reproductive value where R0 is the average number of people who will catch the disease from a single infected person, in a population that’s never seen the disease before; if it’s greater than 1, the infection will probably keep spreading, and if it’s less than 1, the outbreak will likely peter out.  New research reviews the basic reproduction number (R0) of the new coronavirus, that is, the number that indicates how transmissible a virus is, and finds that it is much higher than current estimates.  R0 for 2019-nCoV is expected to be around 2–3,

“Ring Around the Rosie” – Globally known children’s rhyme that harkens back to the Bubonic Plague of the Middle Ages.

Shelter in Place – An order to remain safety within the building one already occupies, rather than to evacuate the area or seek a community emergency shelter.

Self-isolate — Anyone with the tell-tale fever or cough has been told to self-isolate entirely for seven days, while other members of their household must do the same for two weeks.

Social Distancing — (See Update Newsflash Atop List) Keeping people apart in time and space with social distancing measures, self-isolation and actual quarantine decreases opportunities for transmission.

Spanish Flu – Some fifty-to-200 million or more died in the 1918 pandemic, up to 200,000 in the US.  Some 30% of the world’s population of 1.5 billion were infected.

Super Spreader — In epidemics, a small number of people can spread a disproportionately large number of infections.

Swine Flu — Officially named swine influenza A (H1N1).

Symptoms — Body aches, fever, headaches, sore throat, body pain, chills and fatigue. Sometimes diarrhea and vomiting.         

Tokyo 2020:  The Games of the XXXII Olympiad – The Summer Olympic Games have been rescheduled to begin on July 23, 2021.

Typhoid Mary — Ms. Mallon was suspected of transmitting typhoid fever to 51 people during the Spanish Flu pandemic (Possibly by serving ice cream with unwashed hands.).

WHO — Located in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Health Organization, is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations

Zoonotic – Diseases that spread from animals to humans, such as the Covid-19 and Ebola.

About the Global Language Monitor

Austin-Texas-based Global Language Monitor is a data research firm that analyzes and catalogues the latest trends in word usage and word choices, and their impact on the various aspects of culture, with a particular emphasis upon Global English.  For more information, email info@LanguageMonitor.com, visit www.LanguageMonitor.com, or call +1.737.215.7750.

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Question: Who Missed the Emergence of the Coronavirus?

Answer: The Administration (including Congress), Academia, and the Media

See CoronaGeddon: Words of the Pandemic You Need to Know

The Early Stages of the Pandemic from The Lancet. with Data from HKUS&T

See The Coronavirus Calendar Here

The potential for a global pandemic of historic proportions was in plain sight for the administration, academia, and the global media to see in January and February.

Back in January, the Global Language Monitor, the data research company,  created a data model of the expansion of the newly discovered n-coronavirus in Wuhan, China.   (You can see this on the LanguageMonitor (dot) com site.)

The numbers were truly frightening, so frightening that I decided not to publish my findings until I could find a respected research study that mirrored my numbers and projections. I found one, published in The Lancet medical journal in the UK, that used data from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUS&T).   The Lancet created a number of graphics that illustrated the impending nightmare that you can see on our site.

The key to HKS&T’s data is that it assumes a much larger base to start from (rather than China’s official count). I then created the Coronavirus Calendar that I published about six or seven weeks ago, the main point of which was that the virus doubles every six days or so, with an infection rate of 2.63 with a mortality rate of about .02.  (The mortality rate has been a bit lower over the last few weeks but is actually higher in Iran and Italy.) GLM distributed this study to the worldwide media. 

Update: China Did Not Count 43,000 Asymptomatic Cases

Though I created the Coronavirus Calendar, I am still shocked at how quickly it is moving. (For California, that’s 39 million * .6 * .02%.) If you extrapolate these numbers for your community, state, region or nation, you can see the horrifying conclusions.

This is not to say, of course, that this result is inevitable.  There is still much that can be done by the concerted efforts of the global institutions — and the very real fact that many pandemics in the past have actually burned themselves out.

Paul JJ Payack
President
The Global Language Monitor
Austin, Texas

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The COVID-19 (Corona Virus) Calendar

The ThoughtTopper Institute

Projections from Published Numbers

The COVID-19 Virus
The COVID-19 Virus

March 29, 2020 Update

Beijing excluded 43,000 Positive Tests from the Published Numbers

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Calendar

New: What You Need to Know & How to Protect Yourself

(South China Morning Post 2/21/2020)

This is being posted only to those who follow me; Please be discreet when distributing.

We are publishing this article only to show the extent of the spread of the virus IF LEFT UNCHECKED. All recent potential pandemics (including Ebola, SARS, and MERS) were stopped due to deliberate action taken by the worldwide medical community (especially the WHO, the CDC, NHC, etc.,) and the proper precautions directed by the relevant government bodies and heroic NGOs.

*********************************************************

ThoughtTopper Institute: The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Calendar

Overview: The news from China is not good. Most recently The South China Morning Post detailed,

“Measures unveiled by the authorities in Beijing and Shanghai on Monday include stricter controls on the movement of residents and vehicles, compulsory mask-wearing and shutting down leisure and other non-essential community services … Beijing Daily reported on Monday that the capital, with a population of over 20 million, would step up efforts to further restrict access to residential communities and compounds and introduce a citywide registration system for entries into Beijing. 

In addition, “Officials at the epidemic control and prevention centre in Shanghai said on Monday that “the vast majority” of the city’s 13,000 residential communities and compounds had instituted “lockdown management”, including entry restrictions and mandatory temperature checks.”

Confusion Abounds

According to the New York Times, “on Thursday, officials added more than 14,840 new cases to the tally of the infected in Hubei Province alone, bringing the total number to 48,206, the largest one-day increase so far recorded. The death toll in the province rose to 1,310, including 242 new deaths.

“The sharp rise in reported cases illustrates how hard it has been for scientists to grasp the extent and severity of the coronavirus outbreak in China, particularly inside the epicenter, where thousands of sick people remain untested for the illness.”

Furthermore, some investigators have suggested that the number of new cases was leveling off and will, in fact, peak and level off in the next few weeks. One study actually picked a date (February 23); mark your calendar.

Projections from Published Numbers

The COVID-19 Calendar is based on the data provided by the British medical journal The Lancet working with data supplied to them by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), and the National Health Commission (NHC) of China, among others. The Global Language Monitor is not responsible for any of the data — only with the extrapolation of the data.

Obviously, COVID-19 cannot expand indefinitely as in the extrapolation above. Typically, these pandemics either burn themselves out or a halted through Human intervention. The gravest predictions now top out at a 60% infection rate for the entire Human population. Rest assured, that that has never happened in all recorded history.

Note: Tip of the Ice Berg? These extrapolations in themselves are hypothetical and should be taken as such. These numbers assume that the number of infections has been substantially under-reported, due to a number of factors, as outlined in the Lancet article.

This data was gathered with an abundance of caution after studying the various numbers coming out of Wuhan. The projected numbers are published herein because these results have been assiduously avoided in the media in all forms.

Origin of Graphics, The Lancet

No alt text provided for this image

This ThoughtTopper Institute publication was compiled by Paul JJ Payack, President and Chief Word Analyst of the Global Language Monitor.

About Global Language Monitor

Based in Austin, Texas, the Global Language Monitor is a data research organization. For more information, call +1.737.215.7750 or email Info@languageMonitor.com

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New York is Declared Top Global Fashion Capital of the Decade; Paris Takes the Crown for 2019.

PRESS RELEASE FEB 4, 2020

For more info email info@languagemonitor.com or call Paul JJ Payack +1 737. 215.7750

AUSTIN, Texas, February 4, 2020 (Newswire.com) - The Global Language Monitor, a United States-based Big-data research firm has announced the Top Global Fashion Capitals of the Decade (2010-2019) and of the Top Global Fashion of the Year 2019.   New York was named the Top Global Fashion Capitals of the Decade, while Paris takes the 2019 crown – its Third This Decade.  GLM has been ranking the Top Global Fashion Capitals since 2007.

Paris Takes the 2019 Crown - Its Third This Decade

AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The Global Language Monitor, the worldwide leader in the documentation, analysis, and tracking of trends in the English language worldwide, has announced the Top Global Fashion Capitals of the Decade (2010-2019) and of the Year 2019. New York was named the Top Global Fashion Capital of the Decade, while Paris Takes the 2019 Crown – its Third in the last 10 years. GLM has been ranking the Top Global Fashion Capitals since 2007.

It’s no surprise that New York and Paris have continued to vie for the top spot on the rankings. Paris won the Top Global Fashion Capital title for 2019, up from fourth place ranking in 2018. Over the decade, New York won big with an average rank of 1.6, finishing in first or second place every year since 2010 – earning it the number one spot for the decade. Paris finished second for the decade with an average rank of 2.4.  

New York Vs Paris Vie For the Top Global Fashion Capital Throughoutthe Decade

London took third place on the decade’s ranking with an average rank of 2.7, centering upon its spectacular two-year run from 2011 to 2012, coinciding with a highly-anticipated Olympics Game and the ever-stylish, Alexander McQueen-adorned Kate Middleton.

Global Language Monitor has been ranking the Top Fashion Capital since 2007

“Fashion is a driving force both economically and culturally and have an impact regionally, country-wide and even across the world,” said Paul JJ Payack, president and chief word analyst of the Global Language Monitor. “Structural change is here, as reflected in the rankings. The traditional fashion capitals are holding their own, but the emerging cities are appearing ever-more frequently throughout the rankings.”

These burgeoning fashion capitals include Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Barcelona, Madrid, and Berlin.

New York’s Mid-town Manhattan

The ever-increasing number of Red Carpet events is having a growing impact.  What was once reserved for the Oscars and Emmys, now include such worthy newcomers as the Met Gala and British Oscars down to ComicCon events and the Country Music Awards. Their impact is most readily seen in the rise of Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

Also of note in 2019, Tel Aviv and Tehran earned inclusion on the rankings.  Tel Aviv came in at No.57 while Tehran took the 58th spot. Tel Aviv, promoted as the “non-stop city”, has a robust public fashion profile. Tehran, under the leadership of the Islamic state, has a hidden yet vibrant fashion scene. The long-awaited rise of Third World fashion centers has now arrived,  Perhaps the most dramatic example, including Lagos, which rose over three rankings from 60th to 41st.

More information about the company and its top lists can be found at Languagemonitor.com.

About Global Language Monitor

Based in Austin, Texas, the Global Language Monitor collectively documents, analyzes and tracks trends in language usage worldwide, with a particular emphasis upon the English language. The company is known for its Word of the Year, political analysis, college and university rankings, high-tech buzzwords, and media analytics. For more information, visit Languagemonitor.com.

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Top Global Fashion Capitals Leaders in Sustainability

The Global Language Monitor has been at the forefront of the Sustainability movement since we named Sustainable as one of our Top Words of the Year some fourteen years ago in 2006.

When GLM named the Top Words of the 21st Century, ‘Truth’ was no. 1, followed closely ‘Progress’ at No. 2. Then came ‘Sustainability’ at No. 3. Sustainability has come a long way in the last decade-and-a-half, now besting even ‘Internet’, ‘Climate Change,’ and ‘Global Warming’.

We have also been ranking the ‘Top Global Fashion Capitals’ since 2007, and have been quoted widely on sustainable, ethical, and green fashion. Our Fashion Director penned a section in Red Carpet Green Dress’ Fashion Designer’s Resource Book

Therefore in 2020, we introduced the Sustainability Rankings as part of our annual Top Global Fashion Capital rankings. The first Sustainability Rankings appear below.

About Global Language Monitor

Based in Austin, Texas, the Global Language Monitor collectively documents, analyzes and tracks trends in language usage worldwide, with a particular emphasis upon the English language. The company is known for its Top Global Fashion Capitals, Word of the Year, political analysis, college and university rankings, high-tech buzzwords, and media analytics. For more information, visit Languagemonitor.com.

Media Contact:
info@languagemonitor.com

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Highlights of the Recent Past

Real-time Analysis of the 2008 Presidential Election

Why the Word “Truth” Troubles Us So

Top Words of the 21st Century

“Woke” is the Top Word of 2019

Number of Words in the English Language

Top Politically (in)Correct Words

Top Words of the First 15 Years of the 21st Century and What They Portend

Top Global Fashion Capitals (2018)

The Battle over Climate Change Explained in Three Charts

1,000,000 Words! The joys of our truly global language. {London Telegraph)

Lexicography 2.0 (Chambers Dictionary)

Top Business Buzzwords, Third Edition

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Global Language Monitor Announces That ‘Truth’ is the Top Word in the English Language for the 21st Century

DECEMBER 30, 2019 BY ADMIN

Rise of China Now Top News Story of the 21st Century

 

PRESS RELEASE  DEC 30, 2019 10:00 EST

AUSTIN, Texas, December 30, 2019 (Newswire.com) - Global Language Monitor, the worldwide leader in the documentation, analysis, and tracking of trends in the English language worldwide, has announced that “Truth” is the Top Word in the English Language for the 21st Century.

Truth (and No. 2 Progress) both far outdistanced the other words in contention, including sustainability, extinction, and Internet. Climate change was followed by (the rise of) China, while Global warming, Twitter and Google followed.  

The first twenty years of the 20th century already set the trajectory for the remainder of the century. The first World War had already concluded as had the Bolshevik Revolution. The seeds of World War II were sown as was the rise of Communism, German Nationalism, the carving up of the Middle East without regard to societal structures, total warfare, the introduction of weapons of mass destruction, flight, electrification of rural areas, the internal combustion engine, the dependence on hydrocarbon for fuel, Einstein’s first papers on relativity, the arms race, the explosive growth of cities, and so much more.

What do the Top Words of the 21st Century portend?

See the Google Ngram depicting the dominance of Truth and Progress over the other eight words in the Top Words of the Century list.

The second Google Ngram depicts the relative closeness in the ranking for Nos. 3 to 10.

Global Language Monitor began recording the Top Words of the Year in 2000 to document the history of the 21st Century through English language usage, the world’s first truly global language. The words are culled throughout the English-speaking world, which as of January 2018 ranks more than 2.58 billion speakers. Global Language Monitor employs its NarrativeTracker technologies for global internet and social media analysis.

NarrativeTracker is based on global discourse, providing a real-time, accurate picture about any topic, at any point in time. NarrativeTracker analyzes the internet, blogosphere, and the top 300,000 print and electronic global media as well as new social media sources as they emerge.

Global Language Monitor has also provided a list of the Top 20 Trending Words of the Year for 2019 ranked to date.

The Top Ten Words for the Twenty-first Century for Global English with commentary follow.

  1. Truth – Despite the cries of impending doom echoing ever more loudly throughout the young century, or perhaps because of them, Truth rings out ever more clearly.
  2. Progress – Though it was the Top Decliner for 2019, progress in Martin Luther King’s words might just follow his arc: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice”.
  3. Sustainability – Sustainable topped the charts some thirteen years ago and now it is strengthening still. 
  4. Extinction – The highest ranking ever for this impending catastrophe of the on-coming Sixth Great Extinction.
  5. Internet – Many interviewed thought that the web or internet would reign supreme; the numbers, however, did not bear them out.
  6. Climate change – Ranked higher in individual years but always in the top ten.
  7. (The rise of) China – The Top News Story of the first decade of the century, and now the Top News story of the Twenty-first century thus far.
  8. Global warming – People aren’t quite sure what they should call what’s happening to the planet.  Please bear in mind that when the original Native Americans crossed the Bering Land Bridge, the oceans were 300 feet lower than today. Add in the hand of man of the Anthropocene and the consequences only become that much more dire.
  9. Twitter – A decade ago we mentioned that Twitter was more than a child’s toy but, rather ominously, a potential weapon of mass disruption (or even destruction).
  10. Google — One of the most transformative tools the species has yet achieved.

About Global Language Monitor

Based in Austin, Texas, the Global Language Monitor collectively documents, analyzes and tracks trends in language usage worldwide, with a particular emphasis upon the English language. The company is known for its Word of the Year, political analysis, college and university rankings, high-tech buzzwords, and media analytics. For more information, visit Languagemonitor.com.

Media Contact:
​Paul JJ Payack
info@languagemonitor.com

Source: Global Language Monitor

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Tags: Culture, English, English Language, GLM, Global English Language, Global Language Monitor, Language, Truth, Words of the 21st Century, Words of the Century

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Global Language Monitor Announces ‘Woke’ is the 2019 Word of the Year for Global English Worldwide

 

This is the twentieth consecutive survey since the turn of the century that Global Language Monitor has tracked the Word of the Year.

NEWS PROVIDED BY The Global Language Monitor 

Dec 17, 2019, 13:24 ET

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AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Global Language Monitor, a company that documents, analyzes, and tracks trends in language usage worldwide, has announced that ‘Woke’ is the Top Word of the Year (#WOTY) for 2019. Woke has also dramatically risen in use during the last decade.

Woke, the Top Trending Word of 2019 for Global English thus far has dramatically risen in U.S. during the last decade as shown in the Google Ngram graph.

Woke, the Top Trending Word of 2019 for Global English thus far has dramatically risen in U.S. during the last decade as shown in the Google Ngram graph.

“In progressive-based language, ‘woke’ describes an epiphany-like experience, where one is awakened to the call of social justice and the failures of the past,” said Paul JJ Payack, president and chief word analyst of the Global Language Monitor. “Every generation in the Post-Modern era has had similar experiences be they Civil Rights, the Vietnam War, the Women’s Movement, LGBT rights, and beyond. A key distinction here is that the sins of the past are now viewed in the context of the present as subjects to be rectified.”

‘Woke’ traces back through the Old English and is defined as to arise, to come to be, and to be born. It’s from Anglo-Saxon and Old High German ultimately from Proto-Indo-European root ‘weg’ defined as to be strong and to be lively.

‘Woke,’ the Top Word of the Year for Global English has dramatically risen in use in the U.S. during the last decade as shown in the Google Ngram.

Progress as the Top Un-trending Word

In a first, GLM named the Top Un-trending Word (or Decliner) for 2019, which is thus far ‘Progress.’ Payack noted, “The concept of progress has had a profound influence on the advance of Western Civilization since ancient times. The idea of ‘progress’ as espoused in the works of Enlightenment thinkers had considerable influence on the drafters of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. The word though has significantly fallen especially since the mid-1960s as shown in the Google Ngram.

In 2018 there were two distinct Words of the Year (#WOTY): The Moment — A confluence of fame, fortune, and happenstance (Worldwide), and Weaponize — In today’s bitterly partisan infighting, any word, action, or deed can and will be weaponized (U.S. alone).

Global Language Monitor began recording the Top Words of the Year in 2000 to document the history of the 21st Century through the English language, the world’s first truly global language. The words are culled throughout the English-speaking world, which as of January 2018 ranks more than 2.58 billion speakers. Global Language Monitor employs its NarrativeTracker technologies for global internet and social media analysis.

NarrativeTracker is based on global discourse, providing a real-time, accurate picture about any topic, at any point in time. NarrativeTracker analyzes the internet, blogosphere, and the top 300,000 print and electronic global media as well as new social media sources as they emerge.

Global Language Monitor has also provided a list of the Top 20 Trending Words of the Year for 2019 ranked to date, including last year’s ranking (number after the word) and a brief description or commentary of usage.

  1. Woke (5) — An epiphany-like experience, where one is awakened to the call of social justice.
  2. Consequential — Presidents are now judged on the ‘consequentiality’ of their administrations.
  3. Migrants (16) — The continuing worldwide movement of mass migrations.
  4. Opioids (3) — The scourge continues as the nation seems a bit inured to the devastation (more casualties than all deaths in U.S. Wars from WWII to present).
  5. Collusion (11) — The report is filed and final, but the controversies continue.
  6. Anthropocene — Did a new human-influenced geological epoch actually begin in 1950?
  7. Heartbeat — Fetal heartbeat bills are now front-and-center in state legislatures across the nation.
  8. Blue Wave — The Democrats winning back control of Congress in the 2018 Mid-terms.
  9. Family Separation (6) — Family detention and separations actually began in 2014. This is a grave and intractable matter, with plenty of blame to spread around.
  10. Trade War (7) — As we first noted in 2009, “The Rise of China” is a geopolitical event of the first order with the seismic shockwaves continuing to echo around the world.
  11. Fake News (8) — Packaged news, planted sources, one-sided exposes, party lines, and official narratives are a new phenomenon only to those with no sense of history.
  12. Climate Change — 8,000 years ago, New York City was under a mile of ice.
  13. The Moment (1) — A confluence of fame, fortune, and happenstance.
  14. Nukes (4) — Last year North Korea and in 2019 Iran and Russia added to the mix.
  15. Progressives — The word ‘liberal’ outlived its usefulness as the description of one’s political leanings.
  16. Micro-influencers — Bloggers, Vloggers, Instagrammers, YouTubers, and other small yet very influential communities of interest.
  17. Fact Check (17) — New studies suggest that fact-checkers appear to have definite biases.
  18. ICE — The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security.
  19. Women’s World Cup — The quadrennial, global celebration of women’s football.
  20. Gerrymander — The divvying up the political spoils (election districts) to the advantage of those in power.

Global Language Monitor has also released the Top Trending Words/Phrases of the Year for 2019 related to the call of social justice ranked to date, including last year’s ranking (number after the word) and a brief description or commentary.

  1. Identity Politics — - Tip O’Neill once famously opined that “all politics IS local”; nowadays it this has been updated to “all politics IS Identity”.
  2. They/Them — A variation of He/She.
  3. Fetal Heartbeat — - The center of a movement in many states to prove fetal viability.
  4. Woke — - The Great Awokening, etc.
  5. MeToo — - The #MeToo movement continues to wend itself into global culture.
  6. Cisgender — Those identifying with their assigned birth gender.
  7. Cultural Appropriation — One group, say white, female college students, adopting popular fashion styles of a minority group. (At one time considered a great compliment.)
  8. Intersectionality — According to Oxford, “The interconnected nature of social categorizations creating overlapping systems of discrimination”.
  9. Microaggression — Comments, looks, and gestures that communicate prejudicial slights, often unintentional.
  10. White Privilege — Societal benefits accrued to whites, by benefit of their cultural heritage. (In other cultures privilege often extends to other cultural groups.)

In addition, the Global Language Monitor has also tracked the Top Words, Phrases and Names of the 21st Century. More information about these and the company can be found at Languagemonitor.com.

About Global Language Monitor

Based in Austin, Texas, the Global Language Monitor collectively documents, analyzes and tracks trends in language usage worldwide, with a particular emphasis upon the English language. The company is known for its Word of the Year, political analysis, college and university rankings, high-tech buzzwords, and media analytics. For more information, visit Languagemonitor.com.

Media Contact:
Paul JJ Payack
info@languagemonitor.com

Related Images

google-ngram-showing-the-rise-of.png
Google Ngram showing the rise of “Woke”
Woke, the Top Trending Word of 2019 for Global English thus far has dramatically risen in U.S. during the last decade as shown in the Google Ngram graph.

google-ngram-showing-the-decline.png
Google Ngram showing the decline of “Progress”
Progress, the Top Un-trending Word Decliner for 2019, has significantly fallen, especially since the mid-1960s as shown in the Google Ngram.

SOURCE The Global Language Monitor

Related Links

https://www.languagemonitor.com
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Highlights from the Recent Past

“Truth” is Top Word of the Year 2017 by The Global Language Monitor

The Only Analysis for Global English Worldwide

18th annual analysis by the Global Language Monitor

“Weinstein Effect” (and #MeToo) is the Top Phrase and Xi Jinping is the Top Name of 2017

 Recently, The Global Language Monitor (GLM) announced that Truth is the Word of the Year for 2017.

For Immediate Release,

For More Information, call 001.512.801.6823 or email info@LanguageMonitor.com.

December 2017,  Austin, Texas (Updated) – Truth has been named the 2017 Word of the Year for Global English (#WOTY2017) by the Global Language Monitor, in its eighteenth annual global analysis. In addition, the Weinstein Effect has been named the Top Phrase and Chinese leader Xi Jingping the Top Name of 2017.  Following ‘Truth’ were the words Narrative, Opioids, Awoke, and Nuclear Option.  Rounding out the Top Ten were Deep State, Robot Apocalypse, Higher Level of Fake News, Blessee, and Lean Into. 

“Since the turn of the century, the Global Language Monitor has been naming the words of global English that have had the most profound influence upon the language, the culture, and/or the world of the 21st century,” said Paul JJ Payack, President, and Chief Word Analyst.  GLM ‘s methodology, true to its Silicon Valley heritage, is to examine the totality of Global English with the tools now available to better understand the underlying trends that shape our words and, hence, our world.”

GLM tracks the top trending words three times during the year before the final assessment is released at year end.  Below are the Global Language Monitor’s 2017 Words of the Year for Global English.

Global Language Monitor’s 2017 Top Words of the Year for Global English

Rank, Word, Previous Rank, Definition 

  1. Truth (1) — Let’s face it.  The conversation is all about truth, or lack thereof.
  2. Narrative (2) — As GLM noted in ’08, Narratives began replacing facts in politics; a harbinger to ’fake news’.
  3. Opioids (10) — More deaths than gun violence and automobiles crashed combined.
  4. Post-Truth (16) — Objective facts are less influential than appeals to emotion or the prevailing narrative.
  5. Woke (New) — Awakening to issues of social and racial justice.
  6. Brexit (4) — [United Kingdom] Definition according to Theresa May:  “Brexit means Brexit”.
  7. Blessee (New) — [RSA, South Africa] Those who are shown financial favor through a ‘Sugar Daddy’ (New)
  8. Non-binary (13) — Gender identity defined as neither male nor female.
  9. Anthropocene (15) — The current geological time period where human activities have had a major environmental impact on the Earth.
  10. Latinx (11) — Neologism for the Hispanic heritage of any stripe.
  11. Ransomware (New) — A type of malware where targeted sites are ‘captured’ and rendered useless until a ransom is paid to the hackers.
  12. Tradie (New) — [Australia] Short for any worker in the trades:  tradesmen, e.g., electricians (sparkies), truckers (truckies), chippies (carpenter) and the like.
  13. Flip (New) — Any quick financial transact5on meant to turn a quick profit, particularly involving real estate.
  14. Covfefe — The Trumpian Typo Heard ‘Round the world.
  15. #Resist — From Latin resistere, from re- + sistere to take a stand
  16. Appropriation (Cultural) — Now refers to the exploitation of an ‘ethnic’ culture by those of white European heritage.

Missed the Cut and former rank: Antifa (18), Alt-right (17), Bigly (5), and Populism (19)

Global Language Monitor’s 2017 Top Phrases of the Year for Global English

Rank, Word, Previous Rank, Definition Weinstein Effect (New) — (#MeToo) Emboldened women across the globe confront those who have been abused them in their past.

  1. Weinstein Effect (and #MeToo) (New) — Emboldened women across the globe confront those who have been abused them in their past.
  2. Nuclear Option (7) — The use of nuclear weapons by either side in the on-going and decades-long North Korean standoff.
  3. Deep State (New) — The idea that entrenched bureaucracies, beholden to no one, controlling the ship of state with little concern for elected officials.  In effect, a ‘Shadow’ government
  4. For Real (FR) (New) — [Indian] It took a half a century for the hip lingo of Venice Beach to proliferate to the call centers of India as FR.
  5. Robot Apocalypse (New) — The oncoming usurpation of Humankind by robots and other advanced forms of Artificial Intelligence.
  6. Fake News (New) — A higher level (and far more dangerous method controlling the news) through special relationships, the tight control of events, planting sources, and keeping the actual facts to a tight inner circle.
  7. Lean Into (New) — Being totally committed (or lean into) a cause, an initiative, or career choice.
  8. Non-binary (13) — Gender identity defined as neither male nor female.
  9. Memory Care (14) — Euphemism for treating Alzheimer and other forms of dementia
  10. Cultural Appropriation — Now refers to the exploitation of an ‘ethnic’ culture by those of white European heritage.

Missed the Cut and former rank: Alt-right (17), Dumpster Fire (9), Nuclear Option for US Senate (6), and Safe Place (20).

Global Language Monitor’s 2017 Top Names of the Year

Rank, Name

  1. Xi Jinping — General Secretary of the Communist Party of China
  2. Donald J. Trump — President of the United States of America; Trump took the Top Honors in 2016 and 2015.
  3. Pope Francis —  Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church, the Bishop of Rome, and sovereign of Vatican City.
  4. Angela Merkel —  Angela Dorothea Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
  5. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin —  President of Russia
  6. Theresa May — P)rime Minister of the United Kingdom
  7. Kim Jung Un —   North Korean Strongman
  8. Narendra Modi — Prime Minister of India
  9. Donald Tusk — President of the European Commission
  10. Shinzō Abe — Prime Minister of Japan
  11. Justin Trudeau — Prime Minister of Canada
  12. Hurricane Harvey and Maria — Hurricanes that devastated Houston and Puerto Rico, respectively

Methodology:  The words are culled from throughout the English-speaking world, which now numbers more than 2.35 billion speakers (January 2018 estimate) GLM employs its NarrativeTracker technologies for global Internet and social media analysis. NarrativeTracker is based on global discourse, providing a real-time, accurate picture about any topic, at any point in time. NarrativeTracker analyzes the Internet, blogosphere, the top 375,000 print and electronic global media, as well as new social media sources as they emerge.

About the Global Language Monitor

In 2003, The Global Language Monitor (GLM) was founded in Silicon Valley by Paul J.J. Payack on the understanding that new technologies and techniques were necessary for truly understanding the world of Big Data, as it is now known.

Today, from its home in Austin, Texas GLM provides a number of innovative products and services that utilize its ‘algorithmic services’ to help worldwide customers protect, defend and nurture their branded products and entities. Products include ‘brand audits’ to assess the current status, establish baselines, and competitive benchmarks for current intellectual assets and brands, and to defend products against ambush marketing.

These services are currently provided to the Fortune 500, the Higher Education market, high technology firms, the worldwide print, and electronic media, as well as the global fashion industry, among others.

For more information, call 1.512.801-6823, email info@LanguageMonitor.com, or visit www.LanguageMonitor.com.

Intro to “Word of the Year” Phenomenon

Paul JJ Payack’s Brief Intro to the WOTY Phenomenon

Click to Play

WOTY       W0TY       WOTY       WOTY       WOTY

WOTY       W0TY       WOTY       WOTY       WOTY   

WOTY       W0TY       WOTY       WOTY       WOTY

WOTY       W0TY       WOTY       WOTY       WOTY

WOTY       W0TY       WOTY       WOTY       WOTY

WOTY       W0TY       WOTY       WOTY       WOTY

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A Brief Retrospective on the Nature of Truth and Why It Confuses Us So

Diogenes Searching For TRUTH in Ancient Greece

 Recently, The Global Language Monitor (GLM) announced that Truth is the Word of the Year for 2017.

Austin, Texas, December 2017.  If you kept abreast of the daily press reports, you would think an outbreak of mass hysteria or at least amnesia had swept over the nations of the West. The world’s leading print and electronic media acted as if the concept of truth had been circumvented, or even, contravened, and sounded alarm after alarm that what we all knew as facts were no longer discernible. The source of this disruption in the news cycle, of course, was what came to be known as fake news and post-truth.

For historical comparisons of a number of the terms used in this analysis, GLM used the Google Ngram Viewer.   You can use the Ngram Viewer to chart frequencies of comma-delimited search strings.  The Google Ngram Viewer uses yearly counts from sources printed between 1500 and 2008, though in some cases later dates of publications are included.

In the first example, frequencies of citations between and among a number of words used to describe the Top Words of the Year for 2016 are plotted between 1940 and the present.

Figure 1. Relative Frequency of citations among words used to describe the Top Words of the Year for 2016

Figure 2. Close-up on Relative Frequency Among Some Top Words of the Year for 2016

Figure 3.  Comparisons of the Words Truth Vs. Lie Since 1740

This is why early in the century, the Global Language Monitor put into place a methodology that clearly states that each considered word or phrase must adhere to the published criteria (see below). The methodology calls for words and phrases from the entire global English linguasphere to be considered, as well as each fulfilling geographic and demographic requirements. This automatically excludes the lists created by those organizations that rely on polls and other such non-scientific tools

A Methodology Optimized for the Wired World -- GLM’s Word of the Year rankings are based upon actual word usage 
throughout the English-speaking world, which now approaches some 2.38 billion people, who use the language 
as a first, second, business language. To qualify for these lists, the words, names, and phrases must meet 
three criteria: 1) found globally, 2) have a minimum of 25,000 citations, and 3) have the requisite ‘depth’ 
and ‘breadth’ of usage. Depth is here defined as appearing in various forms of media; breadth that they must 
appear world-over, not limited to a particular profession or social group or geography. The goal is to find 
the word usage that will endure the test of time.

Global Language Monitor began to use newly available technologies to document the Words of the Year for Global English at the turn of the 21st century, with the idea to encapsulate and capture the essence of the preceding twelve months in a sort of linguistic amber.

Consider for a moment that fact that in 2009 GLM named ‘twitter’ as the Global English Word of the Year, not only as a social media phenomenon but as a potential Weapon of Mass Disruption (or even destruction). Witness: 1) the Arab Spring and 2) the actions of one Donald J. Trump.

Political Correctness

In a time so debilitated by the specter of political correctness (both from the left and the right), it seems rather demeaning to advance the concept of ‘fake news’, once you study its etymology, tracing back the origins of the word ‘fake’.

Cambridge Dictionaries’ definition of fakir: A Muslim (or, loosely, a Hindu) religious ascetic who lives solely on alms. Origin: Early 17th century: via French from Arabic faqīr. Fakir, Arabic Faqīr (“poor”), originally, a mendicant dervish. In mystical usage, the word fakir refers to man’s spiritual need for God, who alone is self-sufficient. Although of Muslim origin, the term has come to be applied in India to Hindus as well.

Fakirs are generally regarded as holy men who are possessed of miraculous powers, such as the ability to walk on fire or to subsist by looking only at the face of God.

In a Languagelog posting by Mark Liberman, How Fakirs Became Fakers, Edmund Wilson comments (from the grave) that Fakirs began to become entwined with fakers with a common usage that arose out of the American spiritualism craze of the 19th century.  This is where one can witness the shift in meaning for the word fakir, from an Islamic religious ascetic to the Hindu “Yogi,” to a sort of street corner or carnival barker or “producer of illusions”.

In other words ‘fake news” joins a long list of ethnic slurs that have imbued American English since before the founding of the republic. They are too many to repeat. However the most common of these might be ‘ethnic-group’ giver’ or ‘ethnic-group rich’. Specifically, using the term fake news could be said to humiliate and/or cast aspersions upon Muslim and/or Hindu holy men. Recent searches of the New York Times found 869 instances of ‘fake news,’ while searches of The Washington Post found 1,352. None mentioned the historical dubiousness of the practice.

You can see this linguistic shift peaking around 1940 and continuing to this day.

Figure 4. Shift in Meaning Between Fakir and Faker During the 1940s

In retrospective, even the whole idea of fake news and post-truth is a bit of an over-reaction. The organizations that were disrupted the most by the appearance of unchecked, non-verifiable and inadequately sourced stories, were those upon which the world came to rely and depend upon to safeguard the information delivered to their audiences as verifiably true. To continue in these roles as stewards of truth, it was incumbent upon them to put into place new methods of testing information.

The unvarnished truth is that the dominant news gathering and distribution organizations fell behind the curve as sources of information multiplied by orders of magnitude. Neither did they comprehend the astonishingly rapid advances in computing power. Finally, the evolution of communication and social media tools advanced far more quickly than the old line media’s ability to adapt to and absorb them.

Decades of reporting on the decline of the US manufacturing base never seemed to register to old media as applicable lessons for themselves. In the mid-’80s, an HBS case study inquired as to which fared better — companies with strategic plans in place or those that had none. The answer: a dead heat. Apparently, companies without strategic plans were able to adjust more quickly to changing market conditions while companies with strategic plans all too often, steadfastly rode these plans straight into oblivion.  (For more information on this phenomenon, check out the first two editions of In Search of Excellence.  Prepare to be shocked.)

What is Truth?

The debate over what is truth has been ongoing since the search for an ‘honest man’ by Diogenes the Cynic, the dialogues of Socrates as recorded by Plato, the rhetorical question Pontius Pilate asked of the Christ, the Confessions of Augustine, the Summa of Aquinas, and the monastic scriptoria of Medieval Europe.

In the scriptoria of the Middle Ages, an elaborate system was constructed to ensure that no discrepancies were introduced into Scripture or highly-prized scholarly works — before the coming of movable type and the printing press. Can you imagine the decibel level of a discussion that played out over the misrepresentation of a single iota when dealing with the work of a Church Father, the Apostle Peter (or Paul), or the words of the Lord himself? This, of course, was complicated by the fact that there were few grammatical rules, little or no punctuation, no spaces between and among words, nor between sentences or paragraphs, and the like.

Even in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Harvard and Yale engaged in the same sort of tussle about the owner of Truth as the Right and Left are engaged in today.  Harvard chose the Latin word Veritas (Truth) on its official seal, while Yale considered the matter closed by adding Lux et Veritas.  (Light and Truth) to its own shield.  Three hundred years later, in an academic world perhaps overly concerned with political correctness, Harvard won top honors for the Top Politically (in)Correct Word of 2016.

Watching the nightly news and reading the traditional (for the last two centuries, that is) media, one has the distinct sense that what they perceive as unprecedented almost chaotic circumstances is actually that of the normalcy of the new reality, that of communications at the speed of light that the internet has foisted upon us.

We keep hearing about this most unusual of election cycles, but this is only true when looking through the prism (and historical construct) of the traditional news gathering operations. What is called the 24-hour News Cycle is actually just the tip of the tsunami washing over the planet at an ever-quicker pace. Indeed, the nature of the beast hasn’t changed at all. It is our outdated techniques, that haven’t kept up with the new reality: News now emanates at the speed of thought, from tens of thousands or, even, millions of sources.

Can you imagine the uproar in the monastic world when documents would be produced with little or no vetting against the time-honored standards?

In 2008 GLM published an article, “Is Merriam-Webster its own Best Frenemy,” where we noted that its newest additions to its Collegiate Dictionary, were older than most entering college students at the time (28 years vs 18!)  Indeed, for the most part, technology could solve most of the Post-truth and Fake News phenomena.

Since the turn of the 21st century, the Global Language Monitor (GLM) has named the Top Words of Global English. A decade earlier, the American Dialect Society began to name the Word of The Year for mostly American (and a bit of British) English with little or no use of the then-emerging computer power. By the end of the first decade of the 21st Century, the BBC chose the Global Language Monitor to determine the Top English Words of the Decade worldwide while they chose an UK-based Linguist to highlight those of the UK.

One of the most surprising trends in the evolution of the Words of the Year over the last two decades is that they have become decidedly more parochial, and more trivial, as the century has progressed. Now there are about a dozen players, all competing for the same space, so the race has been one of dumbing down the various nominees and ultimate winner in an apparently desperate attempt to seek the lowest common denominator, or even worse, to optimize entertainment value.

Perhaps most surprising of all is the apparent lack of preparation by the venerable incumbent organizations responsible for gathering, sifting through, and certifying information that then qualifies as verifiably newsworthy.

Apocalyptic language has been widely cited as word of the year worthy for the last several years — and rightly so. In fact, Apocalypse and Armageddon took Global Language Monitors’ honors as Top Global English Words of 2012. And though GLM’s proprietary algorithms have displayed a predictive element, it’s entirely possible that Apocalyptic language did indeed peak some five years too soon.

About the Global Language Monitor

In 2003, The Global Language Monitor (GLM) was founded in Silicon Valley by Paul J.J. Payack on the understanding that new technologies and techniques were necessary for truly understanding the world of Big Data, as it is now known.

Today, from its home in Austin, Texas GLM provides a number of innovative products and services that utilize its ‘algorithmic services’ to help worldwide customers protect, defend and nurture their branded products and entities. Products include ‘brand audits’ to assess the current status, establish baselines, and competitive benchmarks for current intellectual assets and brands, and to defend products against ambush marketing.

These services are currently provided to the Fortune 500, the Higher Education market, high technology firms, the worldwide print, and electronic media, as well as the global fashion industry, among others.

For more information, call 1.512.801-6823, email info@LanguageMonitor.com, or visit www.LanguageMonitor.com.



GLM’s Top Words Record the History of the 21st Century, Thus Far

GLM’s Top Words of the Year Record the History of the 21st Century. Many of the shifts first noted by the trend and narrative-tracking techniques of GLM can be found here, also.

Top Words for the First 15 Years of the 21st Century & What They Portend

 

 Recently, The Global Language Monitor (GLM) announced that Truth is the Word of the Year for 2017.

Austin, Texas, March 3, 2017 (Update) — One hundred years ago, in the year 1915 to be precise, a number of historical trends had already been set in motion that would come to dominate the rest of the century, for better or for ill.   The Global Language Monitor, which tracks global trends through the Big Data-based analysis of Global English, has recently completed a three-year study to better ascertain what trends are we now tracking that will portend future events.

“The first fifteen years of the 20th c. set the trajectory for the remainder of the century — and beyond.”  said Paul JJ Payack, president and Chief Word Analyst, the Global Language Monitor.  “This included the seeds of World War, Bolshevism, Communism, German Nationalism, the carving up of the Middle East without regard to societal structures, total warfare, the introduction of weapons of mass destruction, flight, electrification of rural areas, the internal combustion engine, the dependence on hydrocarbon for fuel, Einstein’s first papers on relativity, the arms race, the explosive growth of cities, and so much more.

If the same can be said for the 21st century at the 15-year mark, what trends can we see that will be likely shape the rest of the 21st century, into the 22nd — and possibly beyond.”

The results for the First 15 Years of 21st Century & the Trends They Portend follow in the format of Rank, Word or Phrase, Comment, and Trend.They Portend

Top Words for the First 15 Years of 21st Century & the Trends They Portend
Rank Word or Phrase Comment 21st Century Trend
1 Web/Internet (2000) Some argue the most momentous change to human society since the Renaissance — also reflected in language usage Some argue the most momentous change to human society since the Renaissance. Web 2.0 was the tipping point where the Internet became embedded into everyday life.
2 China (2009) 2015 is the year that China surpasses the US as the Earth’s economic engine in terms of PPE.  If China holds the title for as long as the US, it will be the year 2139 before it turns over the reigns. The Rise of China will dominate 21st century geopolitical affairs like US in the 20th
3 Selfie (2013) Evidently an ego-manical madness gripped the world in 2013-14. The more people populate the planet, the greater the focus on the individual.
4 404 (2013) The near-universal numeric code for failure on the global Internet. 404 will not merely signify the loss of an individual connection but the shutdown of whole sectors of society
5 9/11 (2001) An inauspicious start to the 21st Century. The early 20th c. saw the seeds of Bolshevism, German Nationalism, and Fascism.  The seeds thus planted in the 21st c. are equally foreboding
6 OMG (2008) One of the first texting expressions (Oh my God!), another was BFF as in Best Friend Forever First sign that the Internet would change language. Basically the successor to Morse’s ‘What hath God Wrought?
7 Sustainable (’06) The key to ‘Green’ living where natural resources are wisely conserved and thus never depleted. Made small impact in 2006; its importance grows every year and will continue to do so as resources ARE depleted.
8 Hella (2008) An intensive in Youthspeak, generally substituting for the word ‘very’ as in ‘hella expensive’ The world is being subdivided into the various tribes of youth (Trans national to follow.)
9 N00b (2009) A beginner or ‘newbie’, with numbers (zeroes) replacing the letter Os, emphasizing a new trend in written English The Geeks will inherit the Earth
10 Futebol (2011) Ready or not, the World Cup of Futebol, Futbol, Football, and Soccer was on display in Brasil Sports become an evermore global business
Copyright ©2015 Global Language Monitor
11 Nanobots and Grey Goo (’07) Have we already witnessed the most horrifying forms of warfare? Not if you haven’t envisioned … … self-replicating nanobots spewing forth ever mounting piles of grey goo might tend to dampen prospects for living things
12 Climate Change (’00) Near the top of word usage list since day one of the century. Focusing on data from the last hundred years actually obscures the magnitude of climate change; paleohistory suggests sea level changes of 300 feet
13  Derivative (’07) Financial instrument or analytical tool that engendered the Meltdown Intertwined global financial institutions have the ability to bring down the entire global electronic system if they falter
14 Apocalypse, Armageddon & variations thereof (2012) The word Apocalypse has been in ascendance in English for some 500 years.  However, recent years has witnessed an unprecedented resurgence Wars and rumors of war appear to be the least of it
15 Occupy (2011) ‘Occupy’ has risen to pre-eminence through Occupy Movement, the occupation of Iraq, and the so-called ‘Occupied Territories’ The gulf between the haves and have nots, the North and the South, the 1% and all the rest has only worsened through a century of unprecedented economic, scientific and social progress
16 Tsunami (2004/5) Southeast Asian Tsunami took 250,000 lives The Southeast Asian Tsunami was a thirty-foot swell that resulted in a quarter of a million deaths. Might a 300-foot rise in sea-level engender a ‘slow Tsunami with deaths in the millions?
17 Inflation (Cosmic) (2014) OK, so that the Universe expanded a gazillion times faster than the speed of light is now a fact.  Way Cool. At the beginning of the 20th c., scientists thought our local galaxy was the entire universe; since then our view of the universe has expanded a billion billion times
18 Singularity (2015) Singularity was originally the name for Cosmic Genesis Event  (the Big Bang), Spoiler Alert:  Now used to describe when computer intelligence surpasses that of humans (Possibly before mid-century).
19 Global Warming  (2000) Rated highly from Day One of the decade The next few hundred (or few thousand) years are gong to be a longer haul than we can now imagine
20 Refugee (2005) After Katrina, refugees became evacuees After Syria, evacuees became migrants.
Copyright ©2015 Global Language Monitor
21 Emoticon (2013) Words without letters conveying emotional responses, such as smileys Emoticons. Smileys, Emoji’s  communication continues to evolve in unexpected ways
22 Emoji (2014) In 500 years people will look back on the creation of a new alphabet (the alphaBIT):  Letters + numbers + (emoticons) diacritical marks + emoji (picture words). The arrival of the new English Alphabet (the AlphaBIT) is apparently at hand
23 Pope Francis (2013) Also Top Name of the Year for 2013. A new type of Pontiff sets the stage for all those Popes who follow …
24 WMD (2002) Iraq’s (Non-existent) Weapons of Mass Destruction The nuclear device dropped Hiroshima weighed tons, the new backpack versions, mere pounds.
25 Telomeres (2015) Telomeres are the caps at the end of each strand of DNA that protect our chromosomes. When telomeres wear away, the chromosomes are destroyed, and death ensues.  The goal: protect telomeres, extend life
26 German Ascendance (2015) One of the architects of the European Union, German Chancellor Angela Merkel continues her reign as the most powerful woman on the planet Germany’s tragic misadventures of the 20th c., belie its dominance of the Euro Zone in the 21st.
27 Anthropocene (2015) A proposed geologic epoch when humans began to impact natural processes An impact that will only grow for better or ill throughout the century.
28 God Particle (2011) The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) continues its quest for the Higgs boson, popularly known as the God Particle. Scientists have calculated a one in fifty million chance that the LHC will generate a small black hole that could devour the Earth.
29 Denier (2014) An ugly new addition to the trending words list as it has become an evermore present invective with sinister overtones (fully intended). Political discourse continues to sink to unprecedented levels
30 Carbon Footprint (2008) The amount of carbon released in a process or activity Burning a gallon of petrol produces enough CO² to melt 400 gallons of ice at the poles.
Copyright ©2015 Global Language Monitor
31  Slumdog (2008) Child inhabitants of Mumbai’s slums Slumdogs continue to multiply as MegaCities continue to seemingly endlessly expand
32 Truthiness (2006) Steven Colbert’s addition to the language appears to be a keeper; While something may not meet the standard of truth, it certainly appears to be true Truthiness seems to set the new standard, unfortunately
33 Change (2008) The top political buzzword of the 2008 US Presidential campaign Change will continue as a top word into the 22nd century — and beyond
34 Chinglish (2005) The Chinese-English Hybrid language growing larger as Chinese influence expands Chinese-English will inevitably cross-fertilize as the two great economic powers contend into the 22nd Century
35 Google (2007) Founders misspelled actual word ‘googol’ Is Google the prototype of the a new “Idea foundry’
36 Twitter (2009) The ability to encapsulate human thought in 140 characters The ability to encapsulate human thought in wisps of wind (or electron streams) will almost certainly follow
37 H1N1 (2009) More commonly known as Swine Flu Swine Flu, Bird Flu, Ebola, it will only get worse with the hand of man only abetting the enemy
38 Bubble (2007) One financial bubble after another as we move into the 21st century Let’s see: Communism, socialism, fascism, command economies, the silent hand of the market, China’s hybrid — evidently the business cycle will persist
39 The Great War (2014) The centennial of World War I begins four years of soulful commemorations — as the forces it unloosed continue to ripple into (and most probably through) the 21st c. As the Great War (and the ravages thereof} continue into the 21st c., what at the odds that its ramifications will continue throughout the 21st
40 Political Transparency (2007) A noble idea from the Campaign that was among the first casualties of the Obama Administration The explosion of knowledge portends less transparency not more …
Copyright ©2015 Global Language Monitor 
To see the Top Words of 2014

The words are culled from throughout the English-speaking world, which now numbers more than 1.83 billion speakers (January 2013 estimate) GLM employs its NarrativeTracker technologies for global Internet and social media analysis. NarrativeTracker is based on global discourse, providing a real-time, accurate picture about any topic, at any point in time.   NarrativeTracker analyzes the Internet, blogosphere, the top 300,000 print and electronic global media, as well as new social media sources as they emerge.

About the Global Language Monitor

Early in the last century, The Global Language Monitor (GLM) was founded in Silicon Valley by Paul J.J. Payack on the understanding that new technologies and techniques were necessary for truly understanding the world of Big Data, as it is now known.  Silicon Valley is located in what is now the CaliMinor Federation.

Today, from its home in Austin, Texas GLM provides a number of innovative products and services that utilize its ‘algorithmic services’ to help worldwide customers protect, defend and nurture their branded products and entities. Products include ‘brand audits’ to assess the current status, establish baselines, and competitive benchmarks for current intellectual assets and brands, and to defend products against ambush marketing.

These services are currently provided to the Fortune 500, the Higher Education market, high technology firms, the worldwide print and electronic media, and the global fashion industry, among others.For more information, call 1.512.801.6823, email info@LanguageMonitor.com, or visit www.LanguageMonitor.com.

‘Truth’ is Top Word, ‘Weinstein Effect’ the Top Phrase and ‘Xi Jinping’ the Top Name in Global English for 2017

Summary:  “Since the turn of the century, the Global Language Monitor has been naming the words of global English that have had the most profound influence upon the language, the culture, and/or the world of the 21st century,” said Paul JJ Payack, President, and Chief Word Analyst. “GLM ‘s methodology, true to its Silicon Valley heritage, is to examine the totality of Global English with the tools now available to better understand the underlying trends that shape our words and, hence, our world. Our goal remains to detect these small changes in the language that often presage titanic shifts in the way humans communicate.”

The Global Language Monitor’s 18th Annual Edition

For Immediate Release,

For More Information, call 001.512.801.6823 or email info@LanguageMonitor.com.

November 16, 2017,  Austin, Texas – Truth has been named the 2017 Word of the Year for Global English (#WOTY2017) by the Global Language Monitor, in its eighteenth annual global analysis. In addition, the Weinstein Effect has been named the Top Phrase and Chinese leader Xi Jingping the Top Name of 2017.  Following ‘Truth’ were the words Narrative, Opioids, Awoke, and Nuclear Option.  Rounding out the Top Ten were Deep State, Robot Apocalypse, Higher Level of Fake News, Blessee, and Lean Into. 

“Since the turn of the century, the Global Language Monitor has been naming the words of global English that have had the most profound influence upon the language, the culture, and/or the world of the 21st century,” said Paul JJ Payack, President, and Chief Word Analyst.

“GLM ‘s methodology, true to its Silicon Valley heritage, is to examine the totality of Global English with the tools now available to better understand the underlying trends that shape our words and, hence, our world.

Our goal remains to detect these small changes in the language that often presage titanic shifts in the way humans communicate.”

In the recent past, some of the shifts first noted by the trend and narrative-tracking techniques of GLM include:

  1. The use of number sequences as clearly defined words (Y2k, Web 2.0)
  2. The use of Twitter as a new form of stylized human communication (2008)
  3. The introduction of emoji symbols as an addition to and transformation of the alphabet (2012)
  4. The rise of the Narrative presaging the rise of ‘fake news’ and the decline of ‘truth-based’ journalism. (2006)
  5. The mounting impact of the ‘sustainability’ and ‘Green’ movements (2006)
  6. The Rise of Microaggressions as a significant form of ‘bullying’ (2015)
  7. The continued emergence of English as the first truly global language (2000-)
  8. Big Data as the most frequently used but least understood word in High Technology (2011)
  9. The application of data mining techniques to global English to better understand the significance of global events and trends (2013)
  10. The Rise of China as the most significant (and de-stabilizing) event of the 21st century, thus far. (2008)
  11. Unveiling the racist underpinnings behind the rise of Fake News.

GLM has used these technologies to track political and social trends.

The eighteenth year of the 21st century provided words that accompanied the outsized geopolitical events of the age:  nuclear diplomacy, shattered trade alliances, the rise (and re-emergence) of nationalism in various parts of the planet, as well as varying degrees of ‘wokeness’ and intense debates over the role of the past in the present-day world.  Perhaps, most surprisingly, a debate over the nature of truth worthy of Athenian philosophers, of 12th-century Schoolmen — and the 18th c. Founders is currently quite the rage.

Global Language Monitor’s 2017 Words of the Year for Global English

Rank, Word, Previous Rank, Definition 

  1.  Truth (1) — Let’s face it.  The conversation is all about truth, or lack thereof.
  2.  Narrative (2) — As GLM noted in ’08, Narratives began replacing facts in politics; a harbinger to ‘fake news’.
  3.  Opioids (10) — More deaths than gun violence and automobiles crashed combined.
  4.  Post-Truth (16) — Objective facts are less influential than appeals to emotion or the prevailing narrative.
  5. Woke (New) — Awakening to issues of social and racial justice.
  6. Brexit (4) — [United Kingdom] Definition according to Theresa May:  “Brexit means Brexit”.
  7. Blessee (New) — [RSA, South Africa] Those who are shown financial favor through a ‘Sugar Daddy’ (New)
  8. Non-binary (13) — Gender identity defined as neither male nor female.
  9. Anthropocene (15) — The current geological time period where human activities have had a major environmental impact on the Earth.
  10. Latinx (11) — Neologism for the Hispanic heritage of any stripe.
  11. Ransomware (New) — A type of malware where targeted sites are ‘captured’ and rendered useless until a ransom is paid to the hackers.
  12. Tradie (New) — [Australia] Short for any worker in the trades:  tradesmen, e.g., electricians (sparkies), truckers (truckies), chippies (carpenter) and the like.
  13. Flip (New) — Any quick financial transact5on meant to turn a quick profit, particularly involving real estate.
  14. Covfefe — The Trumpian Typo Heard ‘Round the world.
  15. #Resist — From Latin resistere, from re- + sistere to take a stand
  16. Appropriation (Cultural) — Now refers to the exploitation of an ‘ethnic’ culture by those of white European heritage.

Missed the Cut and former rank: Antifa (18), Alt-right (17), Bigly (5), and Populism (19)

Global Language Monitor’s 2017 Top Phrases of the Year for Global English

Rank, Word, Previous Rank, Definition

  1.  Weinstein Effect (New) — (#MeToo) Emboldened women across the globe confront those who have been abused them in their past.
  2. Nuclear Option (7) — The use of nuclear weapons by either side in the on-going and decades-long North Korean standoff.
  3.  Deep State (New) — The idea that entrenched bureaucracies, beholden to no one, controlling the ship of state with little concern for elected officials.  In effect, a ‘Shadow’ government
  4. For Real (FR) (New) — [Indian] It took a half a century for the hip lingo of Venice Beach to proliferate to the call centers of India as FR.
  5. Robot Apocalypse (New) — The oncoming usurpation of Humankind by robots and other advanced forms of Artificial Intelligence.
  6. Fake News (New) — A higher level (and far more dangerous method controlling the news) through special relationships, the tight control of events, planting sources, and keeping the actual facts to a tight inner circle.
  7. Lean Into (New) — Being totally committed (or lean into) a cause, an initiative, or career choice.
  8. Non-binary (13) — Gender identity defined as neither male nor female.
  9. Memory Care (14) — Euphemism for treating Alzheimer and other forms of dementia
  10. Cultural Appropriation — Now refers to the exploitation of an ‘ethnic’ culture by those of white European heritage.

Missed the Cut and former rank: Alt-right (17), Dumpster Fire (9), Nuclear Option for US Senate (6), and Safe Place (20).

Global Language Monitor’s 2017 Top Names of the Year

Rank, Name

  1. Xi Jinping — General Secretary of the Communist Party of China
  2. Donald J. Trump — President of the United States of America; Trump took the Top Honors in 2016 and 2015.
  3. Pope Francis —  Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church, the Bishop of Rome, and sovereign of Vatican City.
  4. Angela Merkel —  Angela Dorothea Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
  5. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin —  President of Russia
  6. Theresa May — P)rime Minister of the United Kingdom
  7. Kim Jung Un —   North Korean Strongman
  8. Narendra Modi — Prime Minister of India
  9. Donald Tusk — President of the European Commission
  10. Shinzō Abe — Prime Minister of Japan
  11. Justin Trudeau — Prime Minister of Canada

The Top Words, Phrases, and Names since the Turn of the Century

2016:
Top Words: No. 1 Truth, No. 2 Narrative, No. 3, #Resist
Top Phrases: No. 1 Make America Great Again No. 2 When they go low, we go high No. 3 The Electoral College
Top Names: No. 1 Donald Trump, No. 2 Vladimir Putin, No. 3 Neil Gorsuch

2015:
Top Words: No. 1 Microaggression (Safe Space, Trigger, Unsafe, Snowflake, White Privilege)
Top Phrases: No. 1 Migrant Crisis, No. 2 Je Suis Charlie, No. 3 Almond Shaming
Top Names: No. 1 Donald J. Trump, No. 2 Alan Kurdi, No. 3 Pope Francis

2014:
Top Words: No. 1 The Heart ♥ Emoji (for love), No. 2 Hashtag, No. 3 Vape
Top Phrases: No. 1 Hands Up, Don’t Shoot; No. 2 Cosmic Inflation, No. 3 Global Warming
Top Names: No. 1 Ebola, No. 2 Pope Francis, No. 3 World War

2013:
Top Words: No. 1 ’404’, No.2 Fail, No.3 Hashtag
Top Phrases: No. 1 Toxic Politics, No. 2 Federal Shutdown, No.3 Global Warming/Climate Change
Top Names: No. 1. Pope Francis, No. 2 ObamaCare, No.3 NSA

2012:
Top Words: No. 1 Apocalypse / Armageddon, No.2 Deficit, No. 3 Olympiad
Top Phrases: No. 1 Gangnam Style, No. 2 Climate Change/Global Warming, No. 3 Fiscal Cliff
Top Names: No. 1 Newtown and Malala Yousafzai, No. 3 Xi Jinping

2011:
Top Words: No. 1 Occupy, No.2 Fracking, No.3 Drone
Top Phrases: No. 1 Arab Spring, No. 2 Royal Wedding, No.3 Anger and Rage
Top Names: No. 1 Steve Jobs, No. 2 Osama bin-laden and Seal Team Six, No.3 Fukushima

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: Dafur

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)

Methodology:  The words are culled from throughout the English-speaking world, which now numbers more than 2.35 billion speakers (January 2018 estimate) GLM employs its NarrativeTracker technologies for global Internet and social media analysis. NarrativeTracker is based on global discourse, providing a real-time, accurate picture about any topic, at any point in time. NarrativeTracker analyzes the Internet, blogosphere, the top 300,000 print and electronic global media, as well as new social media sources as they emerge.

For More Information, go to LanguageMonitor.com or call 001.512.801.6823.

About

 

In 2003, The Global Language Monitor (GLM) was founded in Silicon Valley by Paul J.J. Payack on the understanding that new technologies and techniques were necessary for truly understanding the world of Big Data, as it is now known.

Today, from its home in Austin, Texas GLM provides a number of innovative products and services that utilize its ‘algorithmic services’ to help worldwide customers protect, defend and nurture their branded products and entities.  Products include ‘brand audits’ to assess the current status, establish baselines, and competitive benchmarks for current intellectual assets and brands.

These services are currently provided to the Fortune 500, Olympic Partners, leading Higher Education institutions, high-tech firms, the worldwide print and electronic media, the global fashion industry, among others.

Paul JJ Payack lecturing on Big and Ephemeral Data in Shanghai

Payack was cited as the first Shanghai International Creative City Think Tank Master.

GLM foresees a time in the near future where data doubles every hour, every minute, then every second.

To address this unfolding reality, GLM created the tools you need to address an enterprise in a world never at rest, where the facts can change before you locked your strategy into place, in the world where the social media of today is but a hint of what will emerge in the coming months and years.

GLM’s specialized products and services have been built from the ground up for Big and bigger date,  for a marketplace ever in flux, where the only constant changes.

Belfer Center Logo

Ephemera

In 2003, GLM’s founder, Paul JJ Payack, first conceived of a new class of data that he called Ephemera, or Ephemeral Data.

 Global Language Monitor’s proprietary algorithms (including the PQI and Narrative Tracker) are used to plum ephemeral data on any topic for any industry worldwide, quickly and accurately.  Many organizations have used GLM as an additional input to their already robust analytical solutions.  Call 1.512.801.6823 or email info@LanguageMonitor.com

Subprime Meltdown (New York Times)

In 2006, The New York Times worked with the Global Language Monitor to assess the state of the New York City real estate market.  GLM’s used its proprietary POI technology, which The Times described as “an algorithm that tracks words and phrases in the media and on the Internet in relation to frequency, context, and appearance in the global media.”  The study has been hailed as presaging the coming Financial Meltdown, now known as the Great Recession.

The New York Times featuring GLM’s PQI
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GLM’s Founder on BBC America

GLM as a Source of Record

GLM continues to be cited hundreds of by the leading print and electronic media the world over. In fact, the worldwide print and electronic media have come to rely on The Global Language Monitor for its expert analysis on cultural trends and their subsequent impact on various aspects of culture.

Worldwide print and electronic media have come to rely on GLM for it Trend Tracking and analytics-based analyses.

BBC Cites GLM for Words of the Decade

At the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the BBC used two global experts to choose the words that would sum up the decades,  represented English as spoken in the UK, the other English as spoken in America, Australia and the rest of the world.

The Global Language Monitor’s president was chosen for Global English as shown below.

A representative sampling includes:  CNN, MSNBC, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Associated Press, United Press International, Knight-Ridder, USAToday, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, The Charlotte Observer, Minneapolis Star Tribune, San Jose Mercury, New York Post, NPR, FoxNews, ABC, NBC, CBS, ChinaNews, Peoples Daily, The National Post, The Sydney Morning Herald, The BBC, the Australian Broadcasting Company, The Canadian Broadcasting Company, The Cape Town Argus, El Pais (Madrid), The Daily Mail (Scotland), The Hindustan Times, The Gulf News (Qatar), and various electronic and print media on six continents.

About Paul JJ Payack

Paul JJ Payack has served as a senior executive of three Fortune 500 high technology companies (Unisys, Dun & Bradstreet, and StorageTek), and three Silicon Valley technology companies (Apollo Computer, Intelliguard Software, Legato Systems) that were acquired by four other Silicon Valley giants (EMC, Dell, Oracle, and HP), as well as numerous start-ups and re-starts.  (For Payack’s Linkedin bio, go here.)

Currently, GLM’s President and Chief Word Analyst, he also was the founding president of yourDictionary.com. These two language sites attract millions of page views a month. He founded GLM in Silicon Valley in 2003 and moved it to Austin, Texas in 2008.

Payack taught scientific and technological communications at the University of Massachusetts, the University of Texas-Arlington and Babson College, the Federal Reserve Bank (NY), GM/Hughes Aircraft, and many others.

He is a frequent guest on the media circuit including CNN, the BBC, NPR, the CBS, Australia Broadcasting Company and Chinese Radio and Television.

Payack is the author of some eighteen collections (seven currently in print), including  A Million Words and Counting, Kensington (New York) as well as co-author with Edward ML Peters of  The Paid-for Option (Tower Oaks Press), an analysis of the healthcare crisis in the USA.  (For a sampling of Payack’s creative work, including metafiction, flash fiction, and collage art, go here.)

Payack studied philosophy and psychology at Bucknell University and was graduated from Harvard University where he studied comparative literature and classical languages, also publishing his first collection of metafiction, A Ripple in Entropy.  Later he earned a CAGS with a focus on fine arts;  his thesis being a Play in Seven Episodes.  Worlds to Shatter, Shattered Worlds.

He currently resides in Austin, Texas with his wife, Millie, and family. Contact Payack directly:  001 512 801 6823 or pauljjpayack@gmail.com or @languagemonitor.

No. of Words in the English Language

1,041,257.5

Number of Words in the English Language, January 1, 2017, estimate

Shakespeare Created 1700 Words in His Lifetime
The English Language passed the Million Word threshold on June 10, 2009, at 10:22 a.m. (GMT).
Currently, there is a new word created every 98 minutes or about 14.7 words per day.

Next Global English Milestone:  1,050,000 Words

The Number of Words in the English Language

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For Frequently Asked Questions about the Million Word March and GLM, go here.

Click here to Follow GLM On Twitter

‘Millionth English word’ declared

A US web monitoring firm has declared the millionth English word to be Web 2.0, a term for the latest generation of web products and services.

Matt Frei reports on English’s unique linguistic evolution and then spoke to Global Language Monitor’s Paul Payack who helped find this millionth English word.

SEE ALSO

BBC NEWS | Programmes | World News America | ‘Millionth English word’ declared

“As expected, English crossed the 1,000,000 word threshold on June 10, 2009 at 10:22 am GMT. However, some 400 years after the death of the Bard, the words and phrases were coined far from Stratford-Upon-Avon, emerging instead from Silicon Valley, India, China, and Poland, as well as Australia, Canada, the US and the UK,” said Paul JJ Payack, president and chief word analyst of the Global Language Monitor. “English has become a universal means of communication; never before have so many people been able to communicate so easily with so many others.”

“The English language is now being studies by hundreds of millions around the globe for entertainment, commercial or scientific purposes. In 1960 there were some 250 million English speakers, mostly in former colonies and the Commonwealth countries. The future of English as a major language was very much in doubt. Today, some 1.53 billion people now speak English as a primary, auxiliary, or business language, with some 250 million acquiring the language in China alone.”

There are 10,000 other stories hailing the arrival of the 1,000,000th word from Abu Dhabi, and Tehran, to Beijing, to Sydney, to Chicago and Sri Lanka.

Quote of the Week:

“What’s interesting about a million is that it’s such a tiny number compared to all the words we could have,” said Mark Pagel, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Reading who studies the comings and goings of words across history. (Using any combination of seven consonants with two vowels, for example, creates more than 100-million potential words.) But even with a relatively small pile to call on, words are mostly fleeting. (The Oxford English Dictionary has a list of words that have appeared on record only once in hundreds of years.) A small number of essential words such as “two” or “you” – or their variations – are ancients in the language family, Dr. Pagel said.  “Had you been wandering around the plains of Eurasia 15,000 years ago, at the end of the last Ice Age, you probably could have said ‘thou’ and someone would have know you were referring to them. We think that’s pretty astonishing.”  Toronto Globe and Mail, June, 2008

Why Twitter was not in running for the 1,000,000th word

Austin, Texas June 13, 2009 – Since the 1,000,000th word in the English announcement earlier this week, a number of news organizations have inquired as to why Twitter, the prominent microblog, was not on the final list of words considered for No. 1,000,000. According to Paul JJ Payack, president and Chief Word Analyst of the Global Language Monitor,  ”The answer is quite straight-forward: Twitter is already a word, as is its companion, to tweet. Certainly, the 21st century definition of twittering is much different than that of the Middle English twiteren, which is similar to the Old High German zwizzirōn, both of which mean, well, to twitter or as Merriam-Webster’s defines it “to utter successive chirping noises” or “to talk in a chattering fashion”. Since it is already catalogued as a headword, 21st c. twittering is simply a new entry, a new definition, under the ancient headword, twitter”.

IT Pro Portal Compares 12-month use of twitter vs Web 2.0

On June 10, the Global Language Monitor announced that Web 2.0 has bested Jai Ho, N00b and Slumdog as the 1,000,000th English word or phrase added to the codex of fourteen hundred-year-old language.

Web 2.0 beats Jai Ho & N00b as 1,000,000th English Word

English passed the Million Word mark earlier today, June 10 at 10:22 am GMT

Word Number 1,000,001: Financial Tsunami
Austin, Texas June 10, 2009 – The Global Language Monitor today announced that Web 2.0 has bested Jai Ho, N00b and Slumdog as the 1,000,000th English word or phrase. added to the codex of fourteen hundred-year-old language. Web 2.0 is a technical term meaning the next generation of World Wide Web products and services. It has crossed from technical jargon into far wider circulation in the last six months. Two terms from India, Jai Ho! and slumdog finished No. 2 and 4. Jai Ho! Is a Hindi exclamation signifying victory or accomplishment; Slumdog is an impolite term for children living in the slums. Just missing the top spot was n00b, a mixture of letters and numbers that is a derisive term for newcomer. It is also the only mainstream English word that contains within itself two numerals. Just missing the final five cut-off,  was another technical term, cloud computing, meaning services that are delivered via the cloud. At its current rate, English generates about 14.7 words a day or one every 98 minutes.

These are the fifteen finalists for the one millionth English word, all of which have met the criteria of a minimum of 25,000 citations with the necessary breadth of geographic distribution, and depth of citations.

1,000,000: Web 2.0 – The next generation of web products and services, coming soon to a browser near you.
999,999: Jai Ho! – The Hindi phrase signifying the joy of victory, used as an exclamation, sometimes rendered as “It is accomplished”. Achieved English-language popularity through the multiple Academy Award Winning film, “Slumdog Millionaire”.
999,998: N00b — From the Gamer Community, a neophyte in playing a particular game; used as a disparaging term.
999,997: Slumdog – a formerly disparaging, now often endearing, comment upon those residing in the slums of India.
999,996: Cloud Computing – The ‘cloud’ has been technical jargon for the Internet for many years. It is now passing into more general usage.
999,995: Carbon Neutral — One of the many phrases relating to the effort to stem Climate Change.
999,994: Slow Food — Food other than the fast-food variety hopefully produced locally (locavores).
999,993: Octomom – The media phenomenon relating to the travails of the mother of the octuplets.
999,992: Greenwashing – Re-branding an old, often inferior, product as environmentally friendly.
999,991: Sexting – Sending email (or text messages) with sexual content.
999,990: Shovel Ready – Projects are ready to begin immediately upon the release of federal stimulus funds.
999,989: Defriend – Social networking terminology for cutting the connection with a formal friend.
999,988: Chengguan – Urban management officers, a cross between mayors, sheriff, and city managers.
999,987: Recessionista – Fashion conscious who use the global economic restructuring to their financial benefit.
999,986: Zombie Banks – Banks that would be dead if not for government intervention and cash infusion.
 —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  — -
In addition, the 1,000,001st word is Financial Tsunami – The global financial restructuring that seemingly swept out of nowhere, wiping out trillions of dollars of assets, in a matter of months.

Each word was analyzed to determine which depth (number of citations) and breadth (geographic extent of word usage), as well as number of appearances in the global print and electronic media, the Internet, the blogosphere, and social media (such as Twitter and YouTube). The Word with the highest PQI score was deemed the 1,000,000th English language word. The Predictive Quantities Indicator (PQI) is used to track and analyze word usage.
Global Language Monitor has been tracking English word creation since 2003. Once it identifies new words (or neologisms) it measures their extent and depth of usage with its PQI technology.

English Language Millionth Word Finalists Announced, including:  alcopops, bangster, de-friend, n00b, quendy-trendy, slumdog, and wonderstar

English to Pass Millionth Word June 10 at 10:22 am GMT

Million Word March Now Stands at 999,824

Austin, Texas May 29, 2009 – The Global Language Monitor today announced the finalists for the Million Word March. The English Language will cross the 1,000,000 word threshold on June 10, 2009 at 10:22 am Stratford-Upon-Avon time.

“The Million Word milestone brings to notice the coming of age of English as the first, truly global Language”, said Paul JJ Payack, president and chief word analyst of the Global Language Monitor. “There are three major trends involving the English language today: 1) An explosion in word creation; English words are being added to the language at the rate of some 14.7 words a day; 2) a geographic explosion where some 1.53 billion people now speak English around the globe as a primary, auxiliary, or business language; and 3) English has become, in fact, the first truly global language.”

Due to the global extent of the English language, the Millionth Word is as likely to appear from India, China, or East L.A.as it is to emerge from Stratford-upon-Avon (Shakespeare’s home town). The final words and phrases under consideration are listed below. These words represent each of the categories of Global English that GLM tracks, Since English appears to be adding a new word every 98 minutes or about 14.7 words a day, the Global Language Monitor is selecting a representative sampling. You can follow the English Language WordClock counting down to the one millionth word at www.LanguageMonitor.com.

These words that are on the brink of entering the language as the finalists for the One Millionth English Word:

Australia: Alchopops – Sugary-flavored mixed drinks very much en vogue.

Chinglish: Chengguan – Urban management officers, a cross between mayors, sheriff, and city managers.

Economics: 1) Financial Tsunami – The global financial restructuring that seemingly swept out of nowhere, wiping out trillions of dollars of assets, in a matter of months. 2) Zombie Banks – Banks that would be dead if not for government intervention and cash infusion.

Entertainment: Jai Ho! — From the Hindi, “it is accomplished’ achieved English-language popularity through the multiple Academy Award Winner, “Slumdog Millionaire”.

Fashion: 1) Chiconomics – The ability to maintain one’s fashion sense (chicness) amidst the current financial crisis. 2) Recessionista – Fashion conscious who use the Global economic restructuring to their financial benefit; 3) Mobama – relating to the fashion-sense of the US First Lady, as in ‘that is quite mobamaish’.

Popular Culture: Octomom (the media phenomenon of the mother of the octuplets).

Green Living: 1) Green washing – Re-branding an old product as environmentally friendly. 2) E-vampire – Appliances and machines on standby-mode, which continually use electrical energy they ‘sleep’. 3) Slow food: — Food other than the fast-food variety hopefully produced locally (locavores).

Hinglish: Chuddies – Ladies’ underwear or panties.

Internet: 1) De-follow – No longer following the updates of someone on a social networking site. 2) De-friend – No longer following the updates of a friend on a social networking site; much harsher than de-following. 3) Web 2.0 – The next generation of web services.

Language: Toki Pona – The only language (constructed or natural) with a trademark.

Million Word March: MillionWordWord — Default entry if no other word qualifies.

Music: Wonderstar – as in Susan Boyle, an overnight sensation, exceeding all reasonable expectations.

Poland: Bangsters – A description of those responsible for ‘predatory’ lending practices, from a combination of the words banker and gangster.

Politically incorrect: 1) Slumdog – a formerly disparaging comments upon those residing in the slums of India; Seatmates of size – US airline euphemism for passengers who carry enough weight to require two seats.

Politics: 1) Carbon neutral — One of the many phrases relating to the effort to stem Climate Change. 2) Overseas Contingency Operations – The Obama re-branding of the Bush War on Terror.

Sports: Phelpsian – The singular accomplishments of Michael Phelps at the Beijing Olympics.

Spirituality: Renewalist – Movements that encompass renewal of the spirit; also call ‘Spirit-filled’ movements.

Technology: 1) Cloud Computing – The ‘cloud’ has been technical jargon for the Internet for many years. It is now passing into more general usage. 2) N00b — From the Gamer Community; a neophyte in playing a particular game; used as a disparaging term. 3) Sexting – Sending email (or text messages) with sexual content.

YouthSpeak: Quendy-Trendy — British youth speak for hip or up-to-date.

Extra Credit:

French word with least chance of entering English Language: le courriel for E-Mail.

Most recognized English-language word on the planet: O.K.

Each word is being analyzed to determine which is attaining the greatest depth (number of citations) and breadth (geographic extent of word usage), as well as number appearances in the global print and electronic media, the Internet, the blogosphere, and social media (such as Twitter and YouTube). The Word with the highest PQI score will be deemed the 1,000,000th English language word. The Predictive Quantities Indicator (PQI) is used to track and analyze word usage.

Global Language Monitor has been tracking English word creation since 2003. Once it identifies new words (or neologisms) it measures their extent and depth of usage with its PQI technology.

In Shakespeare’s day, there were only 2,000,000 speakers of English and fewer than 100,000 words. Shakespeare himself coined about 1,700 words. Thomas Jefferson invented about 200 words, and George W. Bush created a handful, the most prominent of which is, misunderestimate. US President Barack Obama’s surname passed into wordhood last year with the rise of obamamania.

Pick the Definition, May 28, 2009

Test your vocabulary skills on words about to officially enter the English language

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The English Conquest (May 17, 2009)

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.Chinglish Enriches English Vocabulary with Chinese Features (May 13)

News MagazineThe words in the mental cupboardApril 28, 2009

Watch:  When Does a Word Become a Word?

BBC World Service, April 22, 2009

 

The Economist Predictions for 2009 Preview:

English Marks a Million

Listen to the segment on Morning Edition

Save the Date:  English nears a milestone(Christian Science Monitor)

News Forcaster: When will English pass 1 million words?

Current forecast: after 3/30/08 and before 4/30/08 (45% chance)

A Contrary View of the Million Word March

ENGLISH AND ITS ODDITIES ; The word factory keeps producing

The Million Word March in Smithsonian Magazine

 

THE WORLD IN WORDS:  Top Words of 2008

Essay:  The Number of Words in the English Language

There are many things in the Universe that can never be precisely measured but that doesn’t stop Humankind from attempting to take their measure.

For example, there are on the order of:

  • 7,000 human languages and dialects (6,912 to be precise);
  • About 50,000 ideograms in the various Chinese dialects (though countless more words);
  • About 100,000,000,000 stars in the Milky Way galaxy (and some 100,000,000,000 galaxies in the universe);
  • Over 35,500,000 residents of California;
  • And then there are 10 raised to the power of 72 atomic particles in the universe; that is, precisely:

10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,

000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 atomic particles;

  • There are fewer than 100,000 words in the French language;
  • There are some 6.5 billion folks on the planet; (and about 20 billion that have ever walked upon the Earth);
  • Fewer than 20,000 different words in the Bible, (actually, 12,143 in the English, 783,137 total in the King James Version, 8,674 in the Hebrew Old Testament, and 5,624 in the Greek New Testament);
  • And 24,000 differing words to be found in the complete works of Shakespeare, about 1,700 of which he invented.

Finally, if you emptied all the water out of Lake Tahoe and spread it evenly over all of California it would be about 14 inches deep,  Not that anyone would ever attempt to do so. Or actually, care.

Which brings us to the number of words in English.

The central idea of writing is, of course, the idea. Ideas by their very nature are wispy sorts of things. This being so, you can’t grab an idea and do with it what you will. Rather the best for which one can hope is to encapsulate the idea and preserve it for time immemorial in some sort of ethereal amber. We call this amber, language; the basic building block of which is, of course, the word. (We are speaking now as poets and not as linguists.)

As such, writers of English have the good fortune of having hundreds of thousands of words from which to choose. When you think of it, the English language writer always has at least three words for any idea, each rooted in the Latin, the Germanic or Saxon tongues, and the Greek. Think of a word for human habitation: city, town, metropolis, and so on. And that’s just the start. In the English-speaking world, we also owe a heavy debt to Algonquin, and Hebrew, and Malay (ketchup anyone?) and Maori, and Zulu and Hmong among a multitude of others. I think you can spot the beginnings of a trend here.

And then there is the entire realm of ”jargon,” scientific and otherwise, those specialized patois or vocabularies known only to those in specific fields. Computer-related jargon is multiplying at an extraordinary rate. And since English has become the lingua Franca of the Internet, English words are being created and non-English words co-opted at an ever-quickening pace.

Scientists estimate that there are approximately 10,000,000,000 neurons in a typical human brain.  Each of these neurons can theorectically interconnect with all the rest.

This being so, the number of interconnects within a single human brain is greater than the entire number of atomic particles in the universe.

If you equate these interconnects to ideas, or even thoughts, the number of potential words needed to express them is, indeed, staggering on the order of billions and billions of trillions.

This being said, I now unequivocally state that as of the 10th day of June in the year 2009 AD (or CE, whatever your preference), we estimate that there were some 1,000,000  words in the English language, plus or minus a handful.

Choose well among them.

PJJP

Danville. California, USA

 

Special Report, April 23, 2009

Neologisms

It’s difficult to track the number of words in the English language, since neologisms — new words — are coined every day. The Global Language Monitor claims our lexicon will welcome its millionth word by the end of this month; other experts disagree.Whenever it does occur, will the millionth word be something from the business world, like “carpocalypse,” describing the state of the automotive industry? Or from Hollywood, like “momager,” the mother of a celebrity who also serves as business manager? In these stories, we look at our changing language and highlight some of the new words that have entered it.

Read on and you won’t be an ugsome noob.

Number of Words in the English Language

1,041,257.5

Number of Words in the English Language, January 1, 2017, estimate

Shakespeare Created 1700 Words in His Lifetime
The English Language passed the Million Word threshold on June 10, 2009, at 10:22 a.m. (GMT).
Currently, there is a new word created every 98 minutes or about 14.7 words per day.

Next Global English Milestone

Recent GLM in the News

Will Big Data Impact Your Business? Here’s What You Should Know

SINGAPORE  — THE UNFOLDING FASHION OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CITY

http://hereinnigeria.com/2017/06/22/successful-become-fashion-designer/

The Future of Global English (400 Years in the Future)

MicroEssay by Paul JJ Payack

The conquest of Global English is nearly complete. It is impossible to hold back this tide. The Tsunami of English has already swept over the earth. The question now is how to adjust to this new reality.

I have several suggestions. The first would be to master the language. Yes, acknowledge the sea-change, disassociate yourself from any political misgivings — and get on with it. Global English is here and now — and here to stay. Global English will reside, preside and thrive. At least in some form. Here are some possible threads of evolution (or devolution) of the language over the next 400 years. I chose this perspective because that is the same temporal distance we are from the days of Shakespeare and the King James Bible.

Keeping in mind that the best way to predict the future is to read the past, here are a number of differing scenarios, one of which will be the future of Global English

1. Cyber English: The robots take control of the language. This form of English would be ‘clipped’ and very precise (no ‘fuzzy’ logic here). Come to think of it, this would be a great leap backward to the time of the King’s English, as spoken in, say, Colonial India.

2. The Romanticization of English: The Language devolves into various local dialects that in time become robust languages in themselves. The precedent for this, of course, is Latin splintering into the Romance Languages (Italian, French, Portuguese, Romanian, and Spanish). As Latin is still the Official Language of the Vatican City state, English will remain spoken in certain enclaves in North Carollina, western Virginia, and in the Desert Southwest.

3. Return to Proto-Indo-European. Not as outlandish as it might seem, as the Green movement decries the technological basis of much of Global English, and in a Back-to-Basics promotes the original P-I-E as a ‘green language’.

4. English captured by the Chinese: the Middle Kingdom strikes back and begins to stake a claim in English Language ownership, much as America has done so during the last century. The Chinese prove to be excellent caretakers of the language and develop many interesting ways to extend it throughout the Earth and beyond.

5. Revenge of the Nerds: Leetspeak Strikes Back. The Nerds control the language. All words have dozens of spellings and meanings. Letters, numbers and symbols intermix. Exposition is heavily encrypted. The precedent: The English language before the Noah Webster and the OED. Shakespeare’s many variations on his name is mere child’s play to the near-infinite variety of spelling your children’s children will be able to use for their names.

6. The Number of Words in the English Language
Academics will no longer fret at counting the number of words because the conquest of English will no longer be tainted by political, cultural, and social concerns. Once freed from these concerns, Everyone will be free to count words in the same manner that their scientific colleagues count the number of galaxies, stars and atomic nuclei.

We will then be able to count ALL the words: every name of every fungus, all the technical jargon, YouthSpeak, all the –Lishes, everything.

Dictionaries will not longer be the arbiters what’s a word? Questions of standing the test of time will be rendered inoperable. Words will bubble forth as a frothy sea-foam of insight and meaning. If a word is used by millions or even thousands of influential elites, regardless of class or any form of identity (gender, ethnic, class, national, or social) it will be deemed a word and recorded for posterity.

7. There will be no words only thoughts. This is a rather difficult scenario to explore, since words all but disappear. Dictionaries will be replaced by something much more ethereal, sort of like a directory of dreams, ideas and ideals.

The language will swell to tens of millions of ‘words’ and the fact of its crossing the 1,000,000, word barrier will be looked upon something quite quaint that happened in the ‘classic days’ of ‘Global English language (long before it assumed its then-current exalted position. In all probability, the words in this essay may seem closer to the works of Shakespeare and those of the King James Bible than those of the, say, twenty-fifth Century.

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The 2017 Top Global Fashion Capital Backgrounder — Ranking Top 63 Global Fashion Capitals

New York Bests Paris for 2017 Top Global Fashion Capital Title

Now Ranking the Top 63 Global Fashion Capitals 

AUSTIN, Texas, September 2017 —  In another close battle between New York and Paris, New York took four of the five categories to take the Top Global Fashion Capitals crown for 2017.  Since 2011, the Top spot has been traded between New York, Paris, and London, each taking the Top Spot twice. Completing the Top Ten for 2017following New York and Paris were Barcelona, Milano, Rome, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Las Vegas, and Dubai.

“Since we are expanding to include a number of cities, each with emerging and burgeoning fashion scenes, we are quite excited about the 2017 Global Fashion Capital rankings,”  said Paul JJ Payack, president and chief word analyst of the Global Language Monitor.   “Fashion continues to drive both economic growth for the region as well as a release of creativity that will most certainly impact their city, their region, and perhaps even the world”. #NYFW

The current 2017 rankings now include 63 fashion capitals.  There are three new fashion capitals from West Africa:  Accra, Ghana; Dakar, Senegal; and Lagos, Nigeria.

There is one new fashion capital from East Asia: Kuala Lumpur.  There is one new fashion capital from the Middle East:  Beirut, Lebanon.  Before the various insurgencies in the region,  Beirut was known as the Paris of the Middle East.   There are two new fashion capitals from North America:  Portland, Oregon known for its ‘weird’ culture, much like Austin, Texas and Columbus, Ohio known in the fashion world as the manufacturing headquarters of Henri Bendel, Victoria’s Secret, the Bath & Body Works, Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F), and others.

Comments

No. 3 Barcelona — Moving into Big Four Territory is Big News by definition.

No. 4 Milano — Reclaiming its Big Four status; hmm, perhaps all that re-thinking and revamping just might be having an impact (we’ll see in 2018).

No. 6 London — Had a great run earlier in the decade, but not so great lately (If you consider the No. 6 spot not so great).

No. 7 Amsterdam — Moving up 15 spots is quite a move.

No. 9 Vegas — Back in the Top Ten, more evidence that the Red Carpet experience does indeed have an impact.

No. 10 Dubai — More evidence that billions of dollars Do, indeed, have an impact.

No. 17 Seoul — Finally making the move in Asia, not No. 1, but a respectable No. 3 regionally.

No. 21 Washington, DC — A move into respectability!?

No. 28 Melbourne and No. 34 Sydney — Trading Places

No. 44 Portland, OR — A very nice debut.

No. 47 Kuala Lumpur — Another solid debut.

No. 46 Boston, No. 48 Miami, No.53 Chicago, No. 54 Houston, and No. 59 Toronto — All down by twenty spots, or more.

No. 63  Cracas — On Hiatus due to Insurrection.

The complete Rankings follow:

Top 63 Global Fashion Capitals 2017    Top 63 Global Fashion Capitals 2017 
2017 Fashion Capital Last   2017 Fashion Capital Last
1 New York 2   32 Copenhagen 36
2 Paris 1   33 San Francisco 37
3 Barcelona 7   34 Sydney, Australia 13
4 Milano 6   35 Sao Paulo 16
5 Rome 5   36 Antwerpen 25
6 London 3   37 Johannesburg 48
7 Amsterdam 23   38 Dallas, Texas 20
8 Berlin 8   39 Austin, Texas 45
9 Las Vegas 26   40 Abu Dhabi 55
10 Dubai 17   41 St. Petersburg 35
11 Singapore 14   42 Cape Town 41
12 Hong Kong 12   43 Mexico City 53
13 Florence 11   44 Portland, Oregon Debut
14 Los Angeles 4   45 Frankfurt am Main 51
15 Madrid 9   46 Boston 24
16 Bali 40   47 Kuala Lumpur Debut
17 Seoul 56   48 Miami, Florida 19
18 Prague 33   49 Monaco 21
19 Rio de Janeiro 18   50 Atlanta, Georgia 32
20 Buenos Aires 29   51 New Delhi 39
21 Washington, DC 54   52 Vancouver, B.C, 52
22 Moscow 22   53 Chicago, Illinois 27
23 Tokyo 10   54 Houston, Texas 30
24 Santiago 43   55 Montreal, Quebec 47
25 Vienna 34   56 Dakar, Senegal Debut
26 Shanghai 15   57 Beirut, Lebanon Debut
27 Mumbai 38   58 Krakow 44
28 Melbourne 49   59 Toronto, Ontario 28
29 Stockholm 46   60 Lagos, Nigeria Debut
30 Bangkok 50   61 Columbus, Ohio Debut
31 Warsaw 42   62 Accra, Ghana Debut
32 Copenhagen 36   63 Caracas Hiatus
Copyright ©2017 Global Language Monitor   Copyright ©2017 Global Language Monitor

The Watch List for 2018  includes: Abidjan, Auckland, Jakarta, and other nominated by industry experts.

Top Fashion Capitals by Region

Europe:  Paris, Barcelona, Milano, Rome, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Florence, Madrid, Stockholm, Antwerp, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, and Monaco.

India::  Mumbai and New Delhi (Mumbai (+24)

Australia:  Melbourne and Sydney (+6)

East Asia:   Singapore, Hong Kong. Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Bangkok

RSA: Johannesburg, Cape Town (+5)

Middle Europe:  Prague, Moscow,  Vienna, Warsaw,  St Petersburg, and Krakow

Canada:  Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver,

Mideast::  Dubai, Abu Dhabi

Spain:  Barcelona and Madrid (+12)

Latin America:  Rio de Janerio, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Sao Paulo,  and Mexico City.  Caracas is on ‘Hiatus’.

Regional US:   New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, San Francisco, Dallas, Austin, Portland, OR, Boston, Miami,  and  Houston

Methodology: For this analysis, the Global Language Monitor used its proprietary Brand Affiliation Index (BAI), the same technology used to measure global brand equity for the Olympics, World Cup, the Fortune 500, and others. This exclusive, GLM longitudinal-study encompasses the prior three years to better assess short-term velocity and longer-term momentum. The study is a Big Data textual analysis based on billions of web pages, millions of blogs, the top 375,000 global print, and electronic media, and new social media formats as they appear. This survey, which was first made public in 2007.

Background:  The Top Global Fashion Capitals are now recognized as the standard in the fashion world, as you can see below.  For the 2017 edition, we are tracking more than three-score established and emerging centers of fashion. Our efforts have attracted an inordinate number of citations in the global media, as well as in academic, research and texts. For more than a decade now, the Global Language Monitor has employed its proprietary algorithms to cut through the world of Big Data establishing the definitive, nonbiased rankings of the Top Global Fashion Capitals.

The result is a longitudinal survey that runs for three years, with its final updating in the weeks before the yearly announcement. GLM surveys. billions of web pages, millions of blogs, the top 300,000 global print and electronic media, as well as new social media sources as they emerge.  In effect, any and all databases available on the web, including key proprietary databases for specific content.

About the Global Language Monitor

In 2003, The Global Language Monitor (GLM) was founded in Silicon Valley by Paul J.J. Payack on the understanding that new technologies and techniques were necessary for truly understanding the world of Big Data, as it is now known.  Previous to this Payack was the founding president at yourDictionary.com, and a senior executive for a number of leading high tech companies.

Today, from its home in Austin, Texas GLM provides a number of innovative products and services that utilize its ‘algorithmic services’ to help worldwide customers protect, defend and nurture their branded products and entities. Products include ‘brand audits’ to assess the current status, establish baselines, and competitive benchmarks for current intellectual assets and brands, and to defend products against ambush marketing.

These services are currently provided to the Fortune 500, the Higher Education market, high technology firms, the worldwide print and electronic media, and the global fashion industry, among others.

For more information, call 1.512.801.6823, email info@LanguageMonitor.com, or visit www.LanguageMonitor.com

Top Trending Words of the Year 2017 (Mid-year Update) — Tumultuous Words for Tempestuous Times

  The English language well represents the tumultuous and tempestuous world of today.

Excellent Question, Will …

August 2017, Austin, TEXAS, and NEW YORK (Update) — The Global Language Monitor (GLM) today announced the Top Trending Words of the Year (#WOTY) for 2017 (Mid-year Update). The final Top Words of 2017 will be announced on November 16, 2017.  This is an update to the Top Trending Words of the Year that GLM produces several times as the yeat 2017 unfolds.

Truth continues as the Top Word of the Year, while Narrative continues in second place. Reflecting the rising alarm GLM first pointed to during the first presidential debates, Opioids made the leap from No. 10 to No.3. Of the next seven spots, all were new to the rankings with the exception of the Nuclear Option (Korea), which moved up two spots to No. 5. New words included Woke, Deep State, and Robot Apocalypse. Regarding ‘fake news,’ newly unmasked as an ethnic slur, the term was supplanted by the concept of a ‘higher level of fake news’ — a time-honored methodology of creating and planting ‘legitimate’ news stories. The most downward trending were Brexit falling eight spots to No. 12, and No. 3 #Resist most dramatically dropping from No. 3 to No. 19.

GLM also announced that the Global English Word of the Year for 2016 was not a word but a meme: the blood-soaked image of Omran Daqneesh, five years old, sitting in an ambulance while awaiting treatment in Allepo, Syria.(Click Here to see Top Global English Words of 2016.)

Covfefe, the Trumpian Typo heard ‘round the world, crossed GLM’s Triple Threshold to make the 2017 #WOTY list, with some 400,000+ media citations alone.

“The amount of linguistic churn in this three-month span is interesting in the extreme.  In fact, the English language well represents the tumultuous and tempestuous world of today.” said Paul JJ Payack, President, and Chief Word Analyst of GLM. “If this churn persists for a significantly longer period of time, this will presage an unprecedented moment in its history. “

‘Truth’ is Top Word of the Year,     2017 (#WOTY) in Both Analyses

DRAWING IN A TIME OF FEAR & LIES • WEEKEND   Babblegate Is the New Watergate

Comparison with the earlier version continue below.

The Top Words, Phrases, and Names since the Turn of the Century

2016:
Top Words: No. 1 Truth, No. 2 Narrative, No. 3, #Resist
Top Phrases: No. 1 Make America Great Again No. 2 When they go low, we go high No. 3 The Electoral College
Top Names: No. 1 Donald Trump, No. 2 Vladimir Putin, No. 3 Neil Gorsuch

2015:
Top Words: No. 1 Microaggression
Top Phrases: No. 1 Migrant Crisis
Top Names: No. 1 Donald J. Trump

2014:
Top Words: No. 1 The Heart ♥ Emoji (for love) , No. 2 Hashtag , No. 3 Vape
Top Phrases: No. 1 Hands Up, Don’t Shoot; No. 2 Cosmic Inflation, No. 3 Global Warming
Top Names: No. 1 Ebola, No. 2 Pope Francis, No. 3 World War I

2013:
Top Words: No. 1 ’404’, No.2 Fail, No.3 Hashtag
Top Phrases: No. 1 Toxic Politics, No. 2 Federal Shutdown, No.3 Global Warming/Climate Change
Top Names: No. 1. Pope Francis, No. 2 ObamaCare, No.3 NSA

2012:
Top Words: No. 1 ApocalypseArmageddon, No.2 Deficit, No. 3 Olympiad
Top Phrases: No. 1 Gangnam Style, No. 2 Climate Change/Global Warming, No. 3 Fiscal Cliff
Top Names: No. 1 Newtown and Malala Yousafzai, No. 3 Xi Jinping

2011:
Top Words: No. 1 Occupy, No.2 Fracking, No.3 Drone
Top Phrases: No. 1 Arab Spring, No. 2 Royal Wedding, No.3 Anger and Rage
Top Names: No. 1 Steve Jobs, No. 2 Osama bin-laden and Seal Team Six, No.3 Fukushima

2010:
Top Words: No. 1 Occupy, No.2 Fracking, No.3 Drone
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: Dafur

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)

Methodology:  The words are culled from throughout the English-speaking world, which now numbers more than 1.83 billion speakers (January 2013 estimate) GLM employs its NarrativeTracker technologies for global Internet and social media analysis. NarrativeTracker is based on global discourse, providing a real-time, accurate picture about any topic, at any point in time. NarrativeTracker analyzes the Internet, blogosphere, the top 300,000 print and electronic global media, as well as new social media sources as they emerge.

For More Information, go to LanguageMonitor.com or call 1.512.801.6823.

A Fascinating Read on Dictionaries by Ian Chadwick

Read More Cool Stuff at:

In the News, Some Classics

GLM In the News: A Selection

The Global Language Monitor is used as a media source for the print and electronic media around the globe.

Hundreds of news articles around the world incorporate GLM research every yea.

You can find links to some of the classic examples below.


Nikki Tundel (MPR) on Climate Change


RAI UNO on GLM’s Top Fashion Capitals


ZD net on the Most Confusing Acronym (SOA)


NY Times’ Safire acknowledges existence of HollyWords that GLM has been highlighting since 2004


Ben MacIntyre (London Times) on sexiness of large vocabulary


Wikipedeia: GLM citation named as Landmark in its history

Hindustan Times: Arabs ahead of the English in cyberspace?

Der Spiegel: Chinglish Die Sache mit dem ding


Washington Post’s Millionth Word Contest Results Here

Other Language Stats: Number, Top Ten, On the Internet, by Country, etc.

People’s Daily (China): Many Chinglish into English

The Sunday Times (London): Chinglish - It’s a word in a million

Connecticut Post:Getting the word out - for the Millionth Time

Enumerating English: Geoffrey Nunberg (NPR/Fresh Air) Can’t Count Words; Who Cares!?


Global English by Neil Reynolds: Spread the Word, English is Unstoppable

Independent News (London): Chinglish Phrases on the Rise

USAToday: Colbert’s ‘Truthiness’ Strikes a Chord

MSNBC: ‘Truthiness’ Among Top TV Buzzwords of the Year

HollyWORDS: Just Plain Bill banned in Hollywood Name Game


The New York Times: The Real Estate Bubble - The Power of Words Click Here

The ThoughtTopper Institute

Analyzing What is Real  and What is True in the News

Before it became a global scandal, GLM had been analyzing the reality behind the News.

Helping discerning thinkers to understand a Higher Level of Fake News™

The articles included in this ThoughtTopper Institute series were first drafted by Paul JJ Payack over the last several years.  Subsequently, some of the originals were expanded with Edward ML Peters, Ph.D. and published in The Hill and other publications.

Paul JJ Payack

Paul JJ Payack

The premise of the original articles was that economists and politicians and intellectual thought leaders had missed the essence of the profound worldwide economic, electronic, and academic transformations that had been underway for some time and would continue into the future if constrained by this profoundly limited vision.

In fact, the facts have borne out our original assumptions.  The Global Economic Restructuring has continued unabated.  China continues to rise, the US and the West continue to struggle, and the ancient question of what is real (and true) has again risen to the forefront.

The Lost Decade of Japan has indeed been replicated, as we had feared.  The recovery did not mirror previous recoveries in the US.  And the traditional manufacturing sector continues to erode.

Edward ML Peters, Ph.D

Paul JJ Payack is president of Austin-based Global Language Monitor.Edward ML Peters, Ph.D. is the managing director of Austin-based ThoughtTopper Institute.

Their most recent book is “The Paid-for Option”, which describes how healthcare reform can actually pay for itself through the application of process intelligence and its attendant gains in productivity.

More GLM in the News …

Der Spiegel

Chinglish Die Sache mit dem Ding

Globe and Mail (Canada)

Spread the Word, English is Unstoppable

ZDNet

Hooray! ‘SOA’ voted most ‘confusing acronym of the year’

Chinese Lecture Series

A General Survey of Translation

The Sunday Times (UK)

Tweet, blog, text: the words that define the Noughties

Logo

More than a Dozen GLM Articles, Just Press [Enter] Once the Page Resolves

Are ‘climate change’ and ‘global warming’ interchangeable?

‘Truthiness’ among top TV buzzwords of year

Stride and Saunter

A Linguistic Examination of Emoji

The Most Used ‘Word’ Of 2014 Isn’t Even A Word! Find Out The Surprising Symbol HERE!

Paris Towers Over World of Fashion — as Top Global Fashion Capital

Top Global Fashion            Capitals 12th Edition       Announced August 30th

The Global Language Monitor’s 11th  Survey

Paris nearly doubled Scores of New York and London

Paris Fashion Week, Autumn 2015, New York and Austin, Texas — Paris has stunned New York City toppling it from its one year reign as the Top Global Fashion Capital in the Global Language Monitor’s 11th Annual survey. London remained in the third spot as did L.A.at No. 4.  Rounding out the Top Ten were Rome, Milano, Barcelona, Berlin, and Madrid, followed by Tokyo. Currently, there are fifty-six fashion capitals being charted, with a number under watch for 2016.

In 2015 GLM added one city to the analysis, Washington, DC,  which made a splash, er belly flopped, to No. 53.

“In a world torn by war, repression, and the brutal subjugation of women and girls, fashion remains a bastion of self-expression,” said Paul JJ Payack, Chief Word Analyst and president of GLM.  “And fashion can be a force for good that can be experienced in a positive manner in every culture and tradition.”

Paris redevient la capitale mondiale de la mode

 

It is a verdict made for eleven years and which, regularly, brings its share of surprises. Between the emerging cities and the four major cities - Paris, New York, London and Milan - which compete for first place, the Global Language Monitor’s ranking of fashion capitals is highly anticipated. At the time when New York Fashion Week opens, the results have just fallen.

Moving up from No.12 to No.6 word ordinarily send the City’s Fashion Establishment into an ecstatic state.  
Not so, if you are Milano. And especially so if you followed by Roma, at No. 5.

Last March, Milano was the Top Fashion Buzzword for 2015 followed by Suede, Booty, and Kate’s Baby Girl. 
However, this is a far cry from the Top Global Fashion Capital ranking, where Milano then ranked No. 12. (sic?).  
Much of the internet media buzz, not all of it positive, revolves upon these efforts to revive its ‘brand’.

Recent reports from Milano Moda Donna 2015 were mixed

Milan has been working hard to re-establish itself as the pre-eminent capital of Global Fashion, or at least to being consistently named as one of the Big Four (with Paris, New York, and London).   Currently, the No. 4 spot is occupied by LA, which GLM sees as representing the Red Carpet phenomenon.

After an extraordinary two-year reign (2011-2012), London has settled into the No. 3 spot, comfortably behind Paris and New York — for the second year in a row.    London also took the third spot in all four major areas of measurement used in determining the annual rankings for the Global Language Monitor.

.Last year New York topped Paris by less than .05%, the tightest margin ever.   This year Paris returned the favor — and then some— by nearly doubling New York’s score.

In another first, Paris topped all four categories worldwide.

Sydney remains strong as Melbourne falters; for the first time, New Delhi and Mumbai resultedin a virtual dead heat.The Global Fashion Capitals for Swimwear were Miami, Barcelona, and Bali.Barcelona, Berlin, and Madrid remain hot as does what we are now calling the Asian Fashion Cluster:  Tokyo, Singapore, Shanghai and Hong Kong.Seoul remains on the outside, very outside, of the Cluster at No. 56.Read About The World’s Leading Cities for Fashion based  on GLM rankingsThe Top Global Fashion Capital Rankings are listed below, in the format: Ranking, Fashion Capital, and Previous Position.

The Watch List for 2017 includes Abidjan, Accra, Auckland, Beirut, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, and Lagos.

Top Fashion Capitals by Region

Europe:Paris, London, Rome, Milano, Barcelona, Berlin, Madrid, Florence, Monaco, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Frankfurt.India:Mumbai, New Delhi (statistical dead heat)Australia:Sydney, MelbourneEast Asia:Tokyo, Singapore, Shanghai and Hong Kong. SeoulRSA:Cape Town, JohannesburgMiddle Europe:Moscow, Prague, Vienna, St Petersburg, Warsaw and KrakowCanada:

Toronto, Montreal, high techand Vancouver,Mideast:Dubai, Abu DhabiSpain:Barcelona, MadridLatin America:Sao Paulo, Rio de Janerio, Buenos Aires, Caracas, , Santiago and Mexico CityRegional US:New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Boston, Las Vegas, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, San Francisco, Austin and Washington, DC

Methodology: For this analysis, the Global Language Monitor used its proprietary Brand Affiliation Index (BAI), 
the same technology used to measure global brand equity for the Olympics, World Cup, the Fortune 500, and others. 
This exclusive, GLM longitudinal-study encompasses the prior three years to better assess short-term velocity 
and longer-term momentum. The study is a Big Data textual analysis based on billions of webpages, millions of blogs, 
the top 375,000 global print, and electronic media, and new social media formats as they appear. 
This is the eleventh edition of the survey, which was first made public in 2007.

About the Global Language Monitor

In 2003, The Global Language Monitor (GLM) was founded in Silicon Valley by Paul J.J. Payack on the understanding that new technologies and techniques were necessary for truly understanding the world of Big Data, as it is now known.  Previous to this Payack was the founding president at yourDictionary.com, and a senior executive for a number of high-tech companies.

Today, from its home in Austin, Texas GLM provides a number of innovative products and services that utilize its ‘algorithmic services’ to help worldwide customers protect, defend and nurture their branded products and entities. Products include ‘brand audits’ to assess the current status, establish baselines, and competitive benchmarks for current intellectual assets and brands, and to defend products against ambush marketing.

These services are currently provided to the Fortune 500, the Higher Education market, high technology firms, the worldwide print and electronic media, and the global fashion industry, among others.

For more information, call 1.512.801.6823, email info@LanguageMonitor.com, or visit www.LanguageMonitor.com

Truthiness and Wikiality

Home

‘

By Jim Cheng, USA TODAYComedy Central’s Stephen Colbert adds words like “Truthiness” and “Wikiality” to the TV lexicon; plus, Elton John issues his hip-hop producer wish list.  Colbert’s ‘truthiness’ strikes a chord“Truthiness” and “Wikiality,” two words popularized by political satirist Stephen Colbert on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, were named the top television buzzwords of the year Sunday. The word-trend group Global Language Monitor, in its annual survey of words from TV that had an effect on the language, defined truthiness as meaning “truth unencumbered by the facts.” Wikiality, derived from the user-compiled Wikipedia information website, was defined as “reality as determined by majority vote,” as when astronomers voted Pluto off their list of planets last week. The survey also cited the words “Katrina,” referring to continuing stories about the hurricane’s destruction; “Katie,” a reference to Katie Couric’s move into the nightly news anchor role at CBS News; and “Dr. McDreamy,” a nod to a character on the breakout hit Grey’s Anatomy.

Elton wants to march to ‘hip-hop beats’Elton John going hip-hop? “I want to bring my songs and melodies to hip-hop beats — a bit like No Diggity by Blackstreet,” John said in excerpts from an interview on Rolling Stone’s website. “I love those beats, but I have no idea how to get them.” John said he wants to work with Dr. Dre, although he hasn’t approached him. “I want to work with Pharrell, Timbaland, Snoop, Kanye, Eminem and just see what happens. It may be a disaster, it could be fantastic, but you don’t know until you try.” John’s next album, The Captain and the Kid, is due next month Posted 8/27/2006 11:22 PM ET

HollyWord Name Game

Just plain Bill banned in Hollywood name game

Jun. 1, 2006 at 5:59 PM

Reuters

If you have ever wondered what’s in a name, consider: Brooklyn, Moxie Crimefighter, Bluebell Madonna, Suri, Phinneaus, Apple and, debuting just last week, Shiloh.

All these are names that celebrities have bestowed upon their newborns in their quest for the unusual, outlandish or off-the-wall. Consider plain Bill boring and banned.

The experts say it is only a matter of time before the latest trendy new names spread to the general public. For example, ordinary people in the Bronx could start naming their children Brooklyn — a name British soccer star David Beckham and his ex-Spice Girl wife Victoria chose for their son.

Although some name experts think the public might embrace Brooklyn as a first name, they might not jump at the name another former Spice Girl, Geri Halliwell, gave her daughter — Bluebell Madonna.

Shortly before the birth, Halliwell told a British magazine she saw bluebells everywhere and took that as a sign. As for the name Madonna, she explained it this way: “No one else has the name except the Virgin and the singer, who I adore.”

It might take a few years to see if the name Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt gave their new daughter — Shiloh — when she was born on Saturday catches on with the general public.

A girl called MessiahPaul JJ Payack, the head of Global Language Monitor, which monitors word and name usage, says Shiloh is unusual in several ways: it is the site of one of the bloodiest battles in the Civil War, a male name and means Messiah.

“This is, indeed, a very unusual trend, where the baby’s name is seen as just another Hollywood adornment,” Payack said.

“Having children has become a fad, and as will any fad emanating from Hollywood, self-augmentation, adornment and going to the extreme are going to be present,” he said.

Pam Satran, co-author of the bestselling baby naming book “Beyond Jason & Jennifer,” says that for years bland names were the order of the day, but not any more. In fact, the next edition of her book will be titled, “Beyond Jason & Jennifer, Madison & Montana” to recognize the first name revolution.

“Twenty years ago celebrity baby names were pretty simple. It was Kate, Kate, Max, Max. Now celebrities are trying to outdo celebrities,” she said.

In the 1950s, if a celebrity had an unusual name he or she would change it something simple and socially acceptable like Ken or Debbie.

As the decades passed, new fads included using boys’ names for girls, like Drew, Cameron and Stockard. Then came the place names: Madison, Brooklyn, Paris and now, Shiloh.

“These days if you have an ordinary name in Hollywood you change it to a weird one. The more distinctive your name is the better. There’s a whole issue of image and branding out there,” Satran said.

She added, “Celebrities are very much aware of the power of their image.”

And with that in mind, here are some example of what celebrities have recently called their children: Julia Roberts, Hazel and Phinneaus; Gwyneth Paltrow, Moses and Apple; Jason Lee, Pilot Inspektor; Joely Fisher, True Harlow; and Nicolas Cage: Kal-el.

According to the Social Security Administration the 10 most popular male names of the 2000s so far are Jacob, Michael, Joshua, Matthew, Andrew, Christopher, Joseph, Daniel, Nicholas and Ethan.

For girls they are Emily, Madison, Hannah, Emma, Ashley, Abigail, Alexis, Olivia, Samantha and Sarah.

Or to sum up in a single word: BORING.

Washington Post: Your One-in-a-Million, or -ion Bombardment

GLM’s Editor’s Note:  Thanks o the Washington Post for creating this bit of linguistic sophistry.  After nearly a decade, we are pleased/disappointed to announce that NOT One of these entries has wriggled itself into the English language.  More the pity.

 — PJJP

Report From Week 665

In which we took suggestions for the 1 millionth word in the English language, which, according to the algorithms set forth by one Paul JJ Payack, is 11,032 words away as of June 30 (then again, it also was 11,032 words away on March 21). Just to be imperious, the Empress decreed that the word had to end in -ion. Some otherwise good entries turned up too often on Google, such as “comcastration,” getting your cable cut off.

4 Martyration: A request for only 36 virgins in paradise. (Chris Doyle, Forsyth, Mo.)

3 Espanation: Stupidly adding a vowel at the end of an English word to try to talk to a Spanish-speaker; e.g., “Which aisle-o has the cerealo?” (Alan Hochbaum, Atlanta)

2 The winner of the “Brechlinker,” the Inker with the Barbie head:

Errudition: Comical misuse of big words. “Madam, your dress looks positively superfluous on you tonight,” he said with amazing errudition. (Tom Witte, Montgomery Village)

And the Winner of the Inker

Percycution: Giving your child a name he will hate for the rest of his life. (Marty McCullen, Gettysburg, Pa.)

Fermentions

  (Bob Staake for The Washington Post)

Achoodication: Trying to determine whether you have to say “bless you” after someone’s second sneeze. (Brendan Beary, Great Mills)

Applicushion: Your fall-back college. (Phil Frankenfeld, Washington)

Banglion: The primitive neural structure constituting 90 percent of the male brain. (Elwood Fitzner, Valley City, N.D.)

Awwdition: A tryout for the Cutest Babies and Puppies Pageant. (Dave Prevar, Annapolis)

Bossculation: Kissing up to management. (Chris Doyle)

Boysion: A house that looks bigger and more luxurious than it really is. “The railroad tracks separated the mansions from the boysions.” (Elizabeth Moly?, Falls Church)

Bratisfaction: Stomping your feet until you get your way, and you do. (Steve McClemons, Arlington)

Cadhesion: The emotional attachment that keeps some women from breaking up with men who treat them badly. (Brad Alexander, Wanneroo, Australia)

Codgertation: A man’s realization that with a certain saying, thought or action, he has turned into his father. (Brendan Beary)

Coitillion: A formal dance at which a debutante really makes her debut. (Steve Fahey, Kensington; Joseph Romm, Washington)

Dabomination: Something that is hateful in the Lord’s eyes, but otherwise is way awesome. (Brendan Beary)

Delugion: The mistaken impression that the levees would hold. (Steve Fahey)

Doughnation: The extra item in a baker’s dozen. (Tom Witte)

Dreckspansion: Now on washingtonpost.com, even more Style Invitational entries! (Brendan J. O’Byrne, Regina, Saskatchewan)

Effemination: France. (Kevin Dopart, Washington)

Emensapation: To free yourself from that circle of pedants comparing their SAT scores from 30 years ago. (Jeff Brechlin, Eagan, Minn.)

Enamortization: To fall rashly in love with an object or person, and end up paying for it for the next 20 years. (Brendan Beary)

Esion: The sound of music played backward. “Oh, the White Album played backward doesn’t say ‘daed si luaP.’ It’s just esion.” (Steve Langer, Chevy Chase)

Flabrication: The weight on your driver’s license. (Bruce Carlson, Alexandria)

Flashion: The latest look in trench coats. (Kyle Hendrickson, Frederick)

Homo-erection: Anything built by the species Homo erectus, of course . What else would it be? (Russell Beland, Springfield)

Immigaytion: The GOP’s two-pronged fear strategy: “It’s two, two, two horrors in one!” (Peter Metrinko, Chantilly)

Indigentrification: That new trailer park and check-cashing outlet on Foxhall Road. (Chris Doyle)

Infectuation: An obsessive attraction to someone who’s going to do you very wrong. (Barbara Turner, Takoma Park)

Iraqtion: A state of political arousal. Initially pleasurable, but requires professional attention if the condition lasts more than four years. (Mark Eckenwiler, Washington)

Irkstation: The cubicle right next to yours, with the co-worker who flosses at his desk. (Tom Witte)

Levistation: A maneuver for putting on tight jeans, in which a woman lies on her back, lifts her hips and then kicks both legs straight up. (Brad Alexander)

Liketation: Giving the milk of human kindness. (Andrew Hoenig, Rockville)

Maltiplication: The way that “a beer with the guys” becomes two, then four, then eight … (Brendan Beary)

Menschion: The rare acknowledgment of the rare man who doesn’t seek publicity. (Richard Pearlstein, Falls Church)

Mession: What’s really been accomplished in Iraq. (Tom Witte)

Miniminion: The bottom banana in an organization; a sycophant’s yes-man. (Stephen Dudzik, Olney)

Oyveycation: A trip back to Brooklyn to visit Aunt Tillie. (Ned Bent, Oak Hill)

Prevulsion: When you know you’re just gonna hate it so much, you can taste it. (Bruce Carlson)

Preztidigitation: An ability to fool an audience while having absolutely no sleight of tongue. (Phyllis Reinhard, East Fallowfield, Pa.)

Racquisition: Implant surgery. (Nick Curtis, Gaithersburg)

Regattacotillion: A vocabulary word designed solely to discriminate against minorities on standardized tests. (David Kleinbard, Jersey City)

Regeorgitation: When the vending machine spits back your dollar bill. (Jay Shuck, Minneapolis)

Samesextillion: The number of gay marriages we’ll have without a constitutional amendment to ban them. — P. Robertson (Chris Doyle)

Sintuition: 1. A knack for recognizing women willing to have sex with you; 2. The cost of a “date” with one of these women. (Dave Kelsey, Fairfax)

Snubdivision: a gated community created to keep out people like YOU. (Stephen Dudzik)

Unsurrection: Oh, it’s just a few desperate dead-enders setting roadside bombs. — D. Rumsfeld, Washington (Dot Yufer, Newton, W.Va.)

Vachion: The current anti-style rule that your dimensions shouldn’t restrict your clothing choice, e.g., size XXXL hot pink spandex leggings. (Chris Parkin, Silver Spring)

Weareligion: What sleeves are for. — B. Frist, Nashville (Kevin Dopart)

Anti-Invitational: Noinkish: Something only slightly amusing. (Russell Beland, Springfield)

And another Anti-Invitational: Annoi: To irritate the Empress by sending an Anti-Invitational entry. (Stephen Dudzik)

“All Things New York City” are the Top Fashion Buzzwords of 2014

The Seventh Annual Analysis by the Global Language Monitor

NEW YORK, September 12, 2014 – “All things New York” has been named the Top Fashion Buzzword for 201 4, in the Global Language Monitor’s seventh annual ranking.  Attitude, Reds, Underbut(t) and Visible Panty Lines (VPL) follow.  Boyfriend Jeans,  Side Boobs, The Kardashian Clan, Robe-style Coats, and Pastels follow.

“All Things New York”, capturing the essence of the New York fashion sense, dominates the 2014 Top Fashion Buzzword list,” said Rebecca Roman, Manhattan-based Fashion Director for GLM. “It is difficult to think of any global fashion trend that does not have a strong presence, if not its origin,  in the New York City.

For the current list of the Top 50 Fashion Capitals Go here

The Top Fashion Buzzwords of 2014 follow:

Rank, Buzzword, Comment

  1. “All things New York” — In 2014 New York stands astride the world of fashion.
  2. Attitude — It’s not just what you wear but how you wear it.
  3. Reds — Big, bold, and bright.
  4. Underbut(t) — Yes, we said ‘underbut(t).
  5. VPL (Visible Panty Lines) — For decades, the idea was to eliminate VPL; VPLs are now in style.
  6. Boyfriend Jeans — Popular but not always fashionable.
  7. Side Boobs — Same as above.
  8. The Kardashian Clan — Same as above.
  9. Robe-style Coats — More bedroom-style in the streets.
  10. Pastels — Appropriate now for all seasons.
  11. Funky Eye Makeup — You know it when you see it.
  12. Earthy Tones — Mixing various earth tones together.
  13. Sneakers — Still popular in all shapes and sizes.
  14. Transparents — Updated Peek-a-boo look.
  15. Sweaters — Particularly Wool, particularly big.

Methodology:  GLM’s various word analyses are longitudinal in nature covering a number of years that varies with the particular analysis.  The rankings are based upon actual word usage throughout the English-speaking world, which now numbers more than 1.83 billion people.  GLM analyses billions of web pages, millions of blogs, 300,000 print and electronic news organizations, and new social media sites as they emerge.  To qualify for GLM’s lists, the words, names, and phrases must be found globally, have a minimum of 25,000 citations. and the requisite ‘depth’ and ‘breadth’ of usage.  Depth is here defined as appearing in various forms of media; breadth that they must appear world-over, not limited to a particular profession or social group or geography.

Top Fashion Buzzwords of previous years include:

  • London (2013)
  • the Princess Effect (2012)
  • Kate Middleton (2011)
  • Lady Gaga (2010), and
  • Chiconomics (2009)

Each year, the Global Language Monitor ranks the Top Global Fashion Capitals. In 2013 New York topped Paris and London followed by Los Angeles (!?), Barcelona, Rome, Berlin, Sydney, Antwerp, and Shanghai.About the Global Language MonitorIn 2003, The Global Language Monitor (GLM) was founded in Silicon Valley by Paul J.J. Payack on the understanding that new technologies and techniques were necessary for truly understanding the world of Big Data, as it is now known.Today, from its home in Austin, Texas Global Language Monitor analyzes and catalogs the latest trends in word usage and word choices and their impact on the various aspects of culture, with a particular emphasis upon Global English.For more information, call 512.801.6823, email info@LanguageMonitor.com, or visit www.LanguageMonitor.com.

New York Takes Top Global Fashion Capital Title from London, edging past Paris

The Global Language Monitor’s 10th Annual Survey

 The Difference between New York and Paris was 0.05%    And No. 4?  Los Angeles! Yes, LA. February Fashion Weeks, 2014 New York and Austin, Texas — New York has reclaimed the title of the Top Global Fashion Capital from London, which had held the tile for 2011 and 2012.  Paris, which also won the title of the Top Global Fashion Capital for Haute Couture, finished in the No. 2 spot overall.  New York and Paris were separated by 0.05%, the closest in the 10-year history of the Global Language Monitor’s survey.   In another development, Los Angeles moved into the esteemed Big  Four status, moving up five spots from 2012.. The rest of the Top Ten included:  Barcelona, Rome, Berlin, Sydney, Antwerp, and Shanghai.    Berlin solidified its position, while Antwerp completed it steady climb, Sydney had a triumphal return, and Shanghai returns to what many consider its rightful place in the Top Ten.   Asia was well represented with Tokyo (11), Singapore (19), and Hong Kong (20) in the Top Twenty.  “New York City has, indeed, earned its Top Global Fashion Capital ranking through its disciplined, methodical yet creative approach to its fashion industry,” said Bekka Payack, New York-based Fashion Director  for The Global Language Monitor.

Midtown Manhattan, the center of it all

The rest of the Top Ten included:  Barcelona, Rome, Berlin, Sydney, Antwerp, and Shanghai.    Berlin solidified its position, while Antwerp completed it steady climb, Sydney had a triumphal return, and Shanghai returns to what many consider its rightful place in the Top Ten.   Asia was well represented with Tokyo (11), Singapore (19), and Hong Kong (20) in the Top Twenty.  “New York City has, indeed, earned its Top Global Fashion Capital ranking through its disciplined, methodical yet creative approach to its fashion industry,” said Bekka Payack, New York-based Fashion Director  for The Global Language Monitor.

Read Vanessa Friedman for a UK point of view.

“Paris, with the Top Haute Couture ranking, of course, has a centuries-long heritage, having invented the very concept, also scored highly in the pret-a-porter category.  This year’s rankings also demonstrate the creative energy that is emerging worldwide in terms of fashion as a jobs, income and wealth generator, not to mention the prestige associated with exporting your fashion sense to the world.

Read About the Top US Fashion Economic Powerhouses in AtlanticCities

Paris Came in at No. 2, but Watch this Space …

After a great 2-year run atop the rankings, London has settled comfortably into the No. 2 spot

. The Top Global Fashion Capital Rankings are listed below, in the format:  Position, City, Change from 2012, and comment.

  1. New York (+1) — The Big Apple is back on top of the fashion world by slipping past Paris by .5%.
  2. Paris (+2) — The Top Global Fashion Capital for Haute Couture is surprisingly strong in pret-a-porter, also.
  3. London (-2) — London has enjoyed a fabulous two-year run and is now secure in its place in the top echelon for global fashion.
  4. Los Angeles (+5) — Zut alors! Tinsel Town in the Top Four? The result of the melding of the Red Carpet, the Industry (film, of course), and West Coast cool.
  5. Barcelona (-2)  —  Espana, again, places two Fashion Capitals in the Top Fifteen.  Barcelona also wins the Top Fashion Capital for Swimwear.
  6. Rome (0) — Rome may have Seven Hills but Italy now has Three Fashion Capitals (and Milan is No. 2).
  7. Berlin (+3)  — Berlin continues its steady rise moving deeper into the the elite ranks.
  8. Sydney (+7)  —  Sydney towers over OZ distancing (and distinguishing) itself, once again, from Melbourne.
  9. Antwerp (+2)  — Ah Antwerp, reverberations of the avant garde Antwerp Six continues into the 21st century.
  10. Shanghai (+12) —  As China further emerges onto the world stage, Shanghai leads the fashion charge.
  11. Tokyo (+9) — Tokyo made a leap in 2013 that many consider long overdue.
  12. Milano (-4)  —  Milan was the Top Global Fashion Capital back in 2009 and remains a strong contender for the top spot year-after-year.
  13. Florence (+3)  — Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli — A proud heritage to a thriving fashion industry in 2013.
  14. Madrid (-9) —  Still strong in 2013,  further cementing its place among the elite Fashion Capitals.
  15. Sao Paulo (-8)  — Again, the Queen of Latin American Fashion Capitals.
  16. St. Petersburg (+35)  —  Russian comes into 2014 with two Fashion Capitals in the Top Twenty, with Petrograd surprising  Moscow.   Read more

  The Global Language Monitor’s 10th Annual Survey

   The Difference between New York and Paris was 0.05%    And No. 4?  Los Angeles! Yes, LA. February Fashion Weeks, 2014 New York and Austin, Texas — New York has reclaimed the title of the Top Global Fashion Capital from London, which had held the tile for 2011 and 2012.  Paris, which also won the title of the Top Global Fashion Capital for Haute Couture, finished in the No. 2 spot overall.  New York and Paris were separated by 0.05%, the closest in the 10-year history of the Global Language Monitor’s survey.   In another development, Los Angeles moved into the esteemed Big  Four status, moving up five spots from 2012.

Coming Later in 2014:  The Global Fashion Capital Institute

. The rest of the Top Ten included:  Barcelona, Rome, Berlin, Sydney, Antwerp, and Shanghai.    Berlin solidified its position, while Antwerp completed its steady climb, Sydney had a triumphal return, and Shanghai returns to what many consider its rightful place in the Top Ten.   Asia was well represented with Tokyo (11), Singapore (19), and Hong Kong (20) in the Top Twenty.  “New York City has, indeed, earned its Top Global Fashion Capital ranking through its disciplined, methodical yet creative approach to its fashion industry.” said Bekka Payack, New York-based Fashion Director for The Global Language Monitor.

Read Vanessa Friedman for a UK point of view.

“Paris, with the Top Haute Couture ranking, of course has a centuries-l, ng heritage, having invented the very concept, also scored highly in the pret-a-porter category.  This year’s rankings also demonstrate the creative energy that is emerging worldwide in terms of fashion as a jobs, income and wealth generator, not to mention the prestige associated with exporting your fashion sense to the world.”

Read About the Top US Fashion Economic Powerhouses in AtlanticCities

. The Top Global Fashion Capital Rankings are listed below, in the format:  Position, City, Change from 2012, and comment.

  1. New York (+1) — The Big Apple is back on top of the fashion world by slipping past Paris by .5%.
  2. Paris (+2) — The Top Global Fashion Capital for Haute Couture is surprisingly strong in pret-a-porter, also.
  3. London (-2) — London has enjoyed a fabulous two-year run and is now secure in its place in the top echelon for global fashion.
  4. Los Angeles (+5) — Zut alors! Tinsel Town in the Top Four? The result of the melding of the Red Carpet, the Industry (film, of course), and West Coast cool.
  5. Barcelona (-2)  —  Espana, again, places two Fashion Capitals in the Top Fifteen.  Barcelona also wins the Top Fashion Capital for Swimwear.
  6. Rome (0) — Rome may have Seven Hills but Italy now has Three Fashion Capitals (and Milan is No. 2).
  7. Berlin (+3)  — Berlin continues its steady rise moving deeper into the the elite ranks.
  8. Sydney (+7)  —  Sydney towers over OZ distancing (and distinguishing) itself, once again, from Melbourne.
  9. Antwerp (+2)  — Ah Antwerp, reverberations of the avant garde Antwerp Six continues into the 21st century.
  10. Shanghai (+12) —  As China further emerges onto the world stage, Shanghai leads the fashion charge.
  11. Tokyo (+9) — Tokyo made a leap in 2013 that many consider long overdue.
  12. Milano (-4)  —  Milan was the Top Global Fashion Capital back in 2009 and remains a strong contender for the top spot year-after-year.
  13. Florence (+3)  — Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli — A proud heritage to a thriving fashion industry in 2013.
  14. Madrid (-9) —  Still strong in 2013,  further cementing its place among the elite Fashion Capitals.
  15. Sao Paulo (-8)  — Again, the Queen of Latin American Fashion Capitals.
  16. St. Petersburg (+35)  —  Russian comes into 2014 with two Fashion Capitals in the Top Twenty, with Petrograd surprising  Moscow.   Read more

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2018: New York Takes Top Global Fashion Capital Award Paris Falls to No. 4

GLM’s 12th Annual Ranking

For Immediate Release

For more Information, call 1.737.215.7750 or email pjjp@post.harvard.edu

New York is First Fashion Capital to Receive over 1 Billion Citations in any Category

A Resurgent London Streaks to Second Followed by L.A.

Austin, Texas and New York City, September 10, 2018.   New York City has wrested the Top Global Fashion Capital Award from Paris. 

In an age where statistical (and cultural) norms appear to be upending at an ever-increasing rate, New York City now stands firmly atop the world of fashion.  Not only did it dethrone Paris by a significant margin, but New York also became the first Fashion Capital to receive more than 1,000,000,000 citations in a single category. 

Each year, GLM ranks all Global Fashion Capitals that qualify by surpassing significant thresh-holds in five categories:  Fashion, Moda, Haute Couture, Pert-a-Porter, and Ready-to-Wear. This is the 12th annual ranking, after two years of tests and development in LaJolla, CA. (#TopGlobalFashionCapital)

“GLMs Annual Rankings directly chart the rise of an ever-expanding cultural phenomenon – Fashion in the 21st century,” said Paul JJ Payack, President of the Global Language Monitor.  We are now witnessing the consolidation of fashion, film, theater, music, and Social Media and the Red Carpet experience.”

(Permission Granted to Reproduce Graphics)

 Announcement:  Auckland, NZ has qualified for these rankings

Methodology: For this analysis, the Global Language Monitor used its proprietary Brand Affiliation Index (BAI), the same technology used to measure global brand equity for the Olympics, World Cup, the Fortune 500, and others. This exclusive, GLM longitudinal-study encompasses the prior three years to better assess short-term velocity and longer-term momentum. The study is a Big Data textual analysis based on billions of web pages, millions of blogs, the top 375,000 global print, and electronic media, and new social media formats as they appear. This survey, which was first made public in 2007.

Background:  The Top Global Fashion Capitals are now recognized as the standard in the fashion world, as you can see below.  For the 2017 edition, we are tracking more than three-score established and emerging centers of fashion. Our efforts have attracted an inordinate number of citations in the global media, as well as in academic, research and texts. For more than a decade now, the Global Language Monitor has employed its proprietary algorithms to cut through the world of Big Data establishing the definitive, nonbiased rankings of the Top Global Fashion Capitals.

The result is a longitudinal survey that runs for three years, with its final updating in the weeks before the yearly announcement. GLM surveys. billions of web pages, millions of blogs, the top 300,000 global print and electronic media, as well as new social media sources as they emerge.  In effect, any and all databases available on the web, including key proprietary databases for specific content.

About the Global Language Monitor

In 2003, The Global Language Monitor (GLM) was founded in Silicon Valley by Paul J.J. Payack on the understanding that new technologies and techniques were necessary for truly understanding the world of Big Data, as it is now known.  Previous to this Payack was the founding president at yourDictionary.com, and a senior executive for a number of leading high tech companies.

Today, from its home in Austin, Texas GLM provides a number of innovative products and services that utilize its ‘algorithmic services’ to help worldwide customers protect, defend and nurture their branded products and entities. Products include ‘brand audits’ to assess the current status, establish baselines, and competitive benchmarks for current intellectual assets and brands, and to defend products against ambush marketing.

GLM also provides naming services and as the Austin Word Wrangler provides premium writing services from annual reports to strategic plans to executive and employee communications.

These services are currently provided to the Fortune 500, the Higher Education market, high technology firms, the worldwide print and electronic media, and the global fashion industry, among others.

For more information, call  1.737.215.7750, email info@LanguageMonitor.com, or visit www.LanguageMonitor.com

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‘Woke’ is the Top Trending Word of 2019, Thus Far

‘Progress’ is the Top Un-Trending Word (Decliner) for 2019

For More Information, go to LanguageMonitor.com or call 1.737.215.7750 or email info@LanguageMonitor.com

Austin, Texas. September 5, 2012 — 
‘Woke’ is the Top Trending Word of the Year (#WOTY) for 2019 thus far, in the latest global analysis by the Global Language Monitor. ‘Woke’ Is followed by ‘Consequential’, ‘Migrants’, ‘Opioids’, and ‘Collusion’. Rounding out the Top Ten are ‘Anthropocene’, ‘Heartbeat,’ ‘Blue Wave,’ ‘Family Separation, and ‘Trade War’. These are followed by ‘Fake News’, Climate Change’, ‘The Moment’, ‘Nukes’, ‘Progressives’, ‘Micro-influencers’, ‘Fact Check’, ‘ICE’, ‘Women’s World Cup’, and ‘Gerrymander’.

This is the twentieth consecutive survey since the turn of the century. (See Below.) GLM began recording the Top Words of the Year (#WOTY) in the Year 2000 to document the history of the 21st century through Global English, the current Global Language. (#Hashtags were not invented until 2007; #Twitter was the Top Word of 2009, ‘Emoji’ was the Top Word of 2014.)

The Great Awokening
“In Progressive lingo, ‘woke’ describes an epiphany-like experience, where one is awakened to the call of social justice — and the failures of the past,” said Paul JJ Payack, president and chief word analyst of the Global Language Monitor. “Every generation in the post-Modern era has had similar experiences be they Civil Rights, the Vietnam War, the Women’s Movement, LGBT rights, etc. A key distinction here is that the sins of the past are now viewed in the context of the present as subjects to be rectified.”

‘Woke’ traces back through the Old English, ‘to arise’, ‘to come to be’, ‘to be born’ from the Anglo-Saxon, and Old High German ultimately from Proto-Indo-European root *weg- “to be strong, to be lively.”

Woke, the Top Trending Word of 2019 for Global English Thus Far, Has Dramatically Risen in Use During the Last Decade as Shown in This Google

Progress as the Top Un-trending Word
In a first, GLM named the Top Un-trending Word for 2019, thus far: ‘Progress’. “The concept of progress has had a profound influence on the advance of Western Civilization since ancient times. The idea of ‘progress’ as espoused in the works of Enlightenment thinkers had considerable influence on the drafters of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

However, as you can see from the chart below, that use of the word has significantly fallen, especially since the mid-1960s. See the Google Ngram below.

The use of the word ‘Progress’ has significantly declined since the mid-1960s according to Google Ngrams.

In 2018 there were two distinct Words of the Year (#WOTY): The Moment — A confluence of fame, fortune, and happenstance (Worldwide), and Weaponize — In today’s bitterly partisan infighting, any word, action, or deed can and will be weaponized (U.S. alone).

The Top Trending Words of the Year (#WOTY) for 2019 thus far, ranked, last year’s ranking, and commentary

  1. Woke (5) — An epiphany-like experience, where one is awakened to the call of social justice
  2. Consequential — Presidents are now judged on the ‘consequentiality’ of their administrations.
  3. Migrants (16) — The continuing worldwide movement of mass migrations.
  4. Opioids (3) — The scourge continues as the nation seems a bit inured to the devastation.
  5. Collusion (11) — The report is filed and final, but the controversies continue.
  6. Anthropocene — Did a new human-influenced geological epoch actually begin in 1950?
  7. Heartbeat — Fetal heartbeat bills are now front-and-center in state legislatures across the nation.
  8. Blue Wave — The Democrats winning back control of Congress in the 2018 Mid-terms.
  9. Family Separation (6) — Family detention and separations actually began in 2014. This is a grave and intractable matter, with plenty of blame to spread around.
  10. Trade War (7) — As we first noted in 2009, “The Rise of China” is a geopolitical event of the first order with the seismic shockwaves continuing to echo around the world.
  11. Fake News (8) — Packaged news, planted sources, one-sided exposes, party lines, and official narratives are a new phenomenon only to those with no sense of history.
  12. Climate Change — 8,000 years ago New York City was under a mile of ice.
  13. The Moment (1) — A confluence of fame, fortune, and happenstance.
  14. Nukes (4) — Last year North Korean, in 2019 Iranian and Russian added to the mix.
  15. Progressives — The word ‘liberal’ outlived its usefulness as the description of one’s political leanings.
  16. Micro-influencers — Bloggers, Vloggers, Instagrammers, Youtubers, and other small yet very influential communities of interest.
  17. Fact Check (17) — New studies suggest that fact-checkers appear to have definite biases.
  18. ICE — The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security.
  19. Women’s World Cup — The quadrennial, global celebration of women’s football.
  20. Gerrymander — The divvying up the political spoils (election districts) to the advantage of those in power.

Methodology: The words are culled from throughout the English-speaking world, which now numbers more than 2.3 billion speakers (January 2018 estimate) GLM employs its NarrativeTracker technologies for global Internet and social media analysis. NarrativeTracker is based on global discourse, providing a real-time, accurate picture about any topic, at any point in time. NarrativeTracker analyzes the Internet, blogosphere, the top 300,000 print and electronic global media, as well as new social media sources as they emerge.

The Top Words, Phrases, and Names of the 21st century follow.

2018:
Top Words: No. 1 Truth, No. 2 Narrative, No. 3, Opioids
Top Phrases: No 1. Weinstein Effect (and #MeToo), 2. Nuclear Option (North Korean version.), 3. Deep State
Top Names: No. 1 Donald Trump, No. 2 Vladimir Putin, No. 3 Neil Gorsuch
2017:
Top Words: No. 1 Truth, No. 2 Narrative, No. 3, Opioids
Top Phrases: No 1. Weinstein Effect (and #MeToo), 2. Nuclear Option (North Korean version.), 3. Deep State
Top Names: No. 1 Donald Trump, No. 2 Vladimir Putin, No. 3 Neil Gorsuch
2016:
Top Words: No. 1 A meme — Omran Daqneesh in Aleppo) No. 2 Refugee
Top Phrases: No. 1 Make America Great Again No. 2 When they go low, we go high No. 3 The Electoral College
Top Names: No. 1 Donald Trump, No. 2 Vladimir Putin, No. 3 Neil Gorsuch
2015:
Top Words: No. 1 Microaggression
Top Phrases: No. 1 Migrant Crisis
Top Names: No. 1 Donald J. Trump
2014:
Top Words: No. 1 The Heart ♥ Emoji (for love), No. 2 Hashtag, No. 3 Vape
Top Phrases: No. 1 Hands Up, Don’t Shoot; No. 2 Cosmic Inflation, No. 3 Global Warming
Top Names: No. 1 Ebola, No. 2 Pope Francis, No. 3 World War I
2013:
Top Words: No. 1 ’404’, No.2 Fail, No.3 Hashtag
Top Phrases: No. 1 Toxic Politics, No. 2 Federal Shutdown, No.3 Global Warming/Climate Change
Top Names: No. 1. Pope Francis, No. 2 ObamaCare, No.3 NSA
2012:
Top Words: No. 1 Apocalypse/Armageddon, No.2 Deficit, No. 3 Olympiad
Top Phrases: No. 1 Gangnam Style, No. 2 Climate Change/Global Warming, No. 3 Fiscal Cliff
Top Names: No. 1 Newtown and Malala Yousafzai, No. 3 Xi Jinping
2011:
Top Words: No. 1 Occupy, No. 2 Fracking, No.3 Drone
Top Phrases: No. 1 Arab Spring, No. 2 Royal Wedding, No.3 Anger and Rage
Top Names: No. 1 Steve Jobs, No. 2 Osama bin-laden and Seal Team Six, No. 3 Fukushima
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: Dafur
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)

About the Global Language Monitor

In 2003, The Global Language Monitor (GLM) was founded in Silicon Valley by Paul J.J. Payack on the understanding that new technologies and techniques were necessary for truly understanding the world of Big Data, as it is now known.

Today, from its home in Austin, Texas GLM provides a number of innovative products and services that utilize its ‘algorithmic services’ to help worldwide customers protect, defend and nurture their branded products and entities. Products include ‘brand audits’ to assess the current status, establish baselines, and competitive benchmarks for current intellectual assets and brands, and to defend products against ambush marketing.

These services are currently provided to the Fortune 500, the Higher Education market, high technology firms, the worldwide print, and electronic media, as well as the global fashion industry, among others.

For More Information, go to LanguageMonitor.com or call 1.737.215.7750 or email info@LanguageMonitor.com.

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GLM’s Top Words Record the History of the 21st Century, Thus Far

The Top Words of the Year Since the Turn of the Century

 

 
TRUTH:  2017 Word of the Year
Recently, The Global Language Monitor (GLM) announced that Truth is the Word of the Year for 2017.

 

Austin, Texas, December 2017 — Since the turn of the century the Global Language Monitor has been using the most up-to-date analytical tools to track the growth and evolution of the English Language, now the first, second, or business language of some 2.38 billion people.

GLM has used these technologies to track many of the most significant trends to appear thus far in the 21st century.

In the recent past, some of the shifts first noted by the trend and narrative-tracking techniques of GLM include:

  1. The use of number sequences as clearly defined words (Y2k, Web 2.0)
  2. The use of Twitter as a new form of stylized human communication (2008/2009)
  3. The introduction of emoji symbols as an addition to and transformation of the alphabet (2013/2014)
  4. The rise of the Narrative presaging the rise of ‘fake news’ and the decline of ‘truth-based’ journalism. (2008)
  5. The mounting impact of the ‘sustainability’ and ‘Green’ movements (2006)
  6. The Rise of Microaggressions as a significant form of ‘bullying’ (2015)
  7. The continued emergence of English as the first truly global language (2000-)
  8. Big Data as the most frequently used but least understood word in High Technology (2011-)
  9. The application of data mining techniques to global English to better understand the significance of global events and trends (2013)
  10. The Rise of China as the most significant (and de-stabilizing) event of the 21st century, thus far. (2008)
  11. Unveiling the racist underpinnings behind the rise of Fake News.

 

The Words of the Year chosen by the Global Language Monitor can be used to better understand the history of the 21st century, thus far. 

The Top Words, Phrases, and Names since the Turn of the Century

 

 

2016

Top Words: No. 1 Meme, No. 2 Narrative, No. 3, #Resist
Top Phrases: No. 1 Make America Great Again No. 2 When they go low, we go high No. 3 The Electoral College
Top Names: No. 1 Donald Trump, No. 2 Vladimir Putin, No. 3 Neil Gorsuch

 

 

2015:
Top Words: No. 1 Microaggression (Safe Space, Trigger, Unsafe, Snowflake, White Privilege)
Top Phrases: No. 1 Migrant Crisis, No. 2 Je Suis Charlie, No. 3 Almond Shaming
Top Names: No. 1 Donald J. Trump, No. 2 Alan Kurdi, No. 3 Pope Francis

 

 

 

 

2014

Top Words: No. 1 The Heart ♥ Emoji (for love), No. 2 Hashtag, No. 3 Vape
Top Phrases: No. 1 Hands Up, Don’t Shoot; No. 2 Cosmic Inflation, No. 3 Global Warming
Top Names: No. 1 Ebola, No. 2 Pope Francis, No. 3 World War

 

 

 

 

2013:

Top Words: No. 1 ’404’, No.2 Fail, No.3 Hashtag
Top Phrases: No. 1 Toxic Politics, No. 2 Federal Shutdown, No.3 Global Warming/Climate Change
Top Names: No. 1. Pope Francis, No. 2 ObamaCare, No.3 NSA

 

 

2012:
Top Words: No. 1 Apocalypse / Armageddon, No.2 Deficit, No. 3 Olympiad
Top Phrases: No. 1 Gangnam Style, No. 2 Climate Change/Global Warming, No. 3 Fiscal Cliff
Top Names: No. 1 Newtown and Malala Yousafzai, No. 3 Xi Jinping

 

 

 

2011:
Top Words: No. 1 Occupy, No.2 Fracking, No.3 Drone
Top Phrases: No. 1 Arab Spring, No. 2 Royal Wedding, No.3 Anger and Rage
Top Names: No. 1 Steve Jobs, No. 2 Osama bin-laden and Seal Team Six, No.3 Fukushima

 

 

 

 

 

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: Dafur

 

 

 

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: No. 1 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)

 

 

 

 

 

About the Global Language Monitor

In 2003, The Global Language Monitor (GLM) was founded in Silicon Valley by Paul J.J. Payack on the understanding that new technologies and techniques were necessary for truly understanding the world of Big Data, as it is now known.

Today, from its home in Austin, Texas GLM provides a number of innovative products and services that utilize its ‘algorithmic services’ to help worldwide customers protect, defend and nurture their branded products and entities. Products include ‘brand audits’ to assess the current status, establish baselines, and competitive benchmarks for current intellectual assets and brands, and to defend products against ambush marketing.

These services are currently provided to the Fortune 500, the Higher Education market, high technology firms, the worldwide print, and electronic media, as well as the global fashion industry, among others.

For more information, call 1.512.801-6823, email info@LanguageMonitor.com, or visit www.LanguageMonitor.com.


click tracking

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Bookstore

Global Language Monitor’s Exclusive Books and, Historical Analysis, and Research Reports…

Mastering Global English By Paul JJ Payack

Just Published!

Ten Tips for Mastering Global English By Paul JJ Payack, The WordMan

By Paul JJ Payack
About the Series

 

Ten Tips for Mastering Global English is part of the Mastering Global English Series, volume 1. This series puts into the hands of millions of students like yourself easy to remember tips, hints and techniques that will help you succeed in the world of Global English.

By delivering its lessons in informal, brief and easy-to-digest sections, Ten Tips for Mastering Global English can serve as an entry-point to in depth study of the subject.

The author, Paul JJ Payack, is the founding president of both yourDictionary.com and the Global Language Monitor. He is the author of some seventeen books as well as hundreds of articles on Global English, Marketing and High Technology, as well as science fiction, drama, and the like.
Educated at Harvard and Bucknell Universities in the US, his latest work is A Million Words and Counting, about the growth and nature of the Global English and the impact it is having on various aspects of culture, as well as the impact of culture on the language itself.

Introduction

At the Global Language Monitor, we look at English as Global English. Rather than focusing on geography (British English, American English, Indian English, we focus on usage—how English is spoken today, by the world’s scientists and technologists, the youth, in the boardrooms of multi-national corporations, in the world of entertainment, and the like.

We’ve also come to realize that there are several momentous trends that are occurring in  Global English right now: 1) A vocabulary explosion: the number of everyday words we use to communicate — those recorded in dictionaries, in newspapers, in  blogs and on the internet, in correspondence to our loved ones, in classroom assignments, in paying our bills, and in recording our history — is expanding at an unprecedented rate, the total just over a million  words, and 2) A geographic explosion: the English language, which at the time of Shakespeare was spoken in a narrow band in the south of Britain by  only a few million people, has suddenly, and rather unexpectedly, become the language of global discourse, commerce, science, entertainment, and communications,  with  speakers  now  approximating 1.58 billion people.

 As an intense observer of the English language, nothing could make me more pleased. And I’m thrilled to be a continuing witness to its evolution, watching and anticipating the countless new ways it will impact the lives of billions around the globe for decades (and even centuries) to come.

Never before in the history of the planet has a single language held as dominant a position as English does today.   Some 1,580,000,000 people can now read this sentence in its original language. Think about that for a minute.

 You will get a PDF (743KB) file

$ 6.00

 Added to cart
 
Buy Now!
$ 6.00
 

You will get a PDF (4MB) file

 

 

History/Historical Analysis

Just Published!

$ 18.00

Buy Now

 

You will get a PDF (4MB) file

 

Dispatch From the Front Lines (9/11 Illustrated)

By 
 

 Paul JJ Payack

I created these thirteen collages two nights ago in the early hours of the morning in the very heart of the District of Columbia, a few blocks from the White House.

 

 

 

 

The previous evening had taken on all the attributes of a deathly beautiful, moonlit autumn evening, with a warm and gentle breeze from the Southwest, and all the splendor this Capitol City is capable of displaying, from the commanding presence of the Capitol Dome to the silent testimony of the Washington Obelisk bolding piercing into and through the dark.

But all this beauty belied the all-persuasive tension, like a hitherto unknown and yet-to-be-discovered form of gravity gently pulling on one’s heart.  (I await some post-Modern Isaac Newton or Albert Einstein to establish the attendant theoretical and mathematical constructs.)  

For this was, and is, and remains a city under siege.  Under siege by an invisible enemy which could (and can) be found anywhere, elsewhere or nowhere.  As my wife opined, it was one of the most protected areas on the planet, and undoubtedly this was true, but, of course it gained that distinction because it also one of the most dangerous places on the planet and perhaps the most highly targeted of targets set squarely in the night scopes of the stealthily silent invaders.

Since the events of September 11th, I have attempted to somehow encapsulate something that cannot readily be captured, at least from the perspective of days and weeks.  As with all things human, a distance and perspective of a generation or two … 

 PJJP
October 27, 2001 
Washington, DC

 

$ 18.00

Buy Now

 

You will get a PDF (4MB) file

 

 

Marketing Analytics/Ambush Marketing

 

Complete Olympics Ambush Marketing Brand Scorecards 2008 - 2018

 

Buy Now

 
By Paul JJ Payack

Global Language Monitor’s Olympic Brand Scorecards are the ultimate guide to the most bitter of all battles being fought on the various Olympic fields — the billion-dollar battle between and among the various levels of IOC Sponsorship, and the mega battles being fought with the Non-affiliated Marketers (NAMs) and the sponsors themselves.

In these pages, you will read about and better understand the fierce behind-the-scenes warfare that the Global Language Monitor has been tracking for six Olympiads now.

And don’t for a minute think that these battles are being waged in any way but the most sophisticated strategies, tactics, and algorithms.

GLM has been tracking PyeongChang for three years now, and are already deep into our analysis of the Tokyo and even the Beijing Games.  Paris isn’t far behind.

You can read the document in a ‘You Are There’ manner since we present each of the Games in the way they actually unfolded.

We hope this all will help you have an even more enjoyable experience since you are now entering the stealth world of Olympic Ambush Marketing.

Organizations pay tens of thousands of dollars per month for this type of research, but we are offering this to you for $499.00, providing you with a convenient entry-point to subscribe to our service.

 You will get a PDF (2MB) file

$ 499.00

Buy Now

 

 

Newly Available!

 
        “… the brief, almost bald, summation of crucial experience that attains its power through its very stark reductiveness”  -Sylvia L.Berkman
 
Written in 1973 off Oxford Street in Cambridge,  Mass., just up the street from where Paul Allen and Bill Gates were creating what came to be known as MS_DOS.

$ 385.   Free Shipping. Arrives in two weeks.

 
 

 More Books at:  https://payhip.com/pauljjpayack

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Rewind 2008: Seemingly chaotic events reflect normalcy of new reality

An Historical Inflection Point:

The US Presidential Election and the Fianancial Tsunami

Austin, Texas, USA.   October 13, 2008. The worldwide financial tsunami that has captured the attention of the worldwide media (as well as governments, corporations and ordinary citizens), has come to dominate one of the great quadrennial media events of the post-Modern era.  No, we are not referring to the Olympics, most recently held in Beijing, or even football’s World Cup but, rather, the US Presidential elections.

The immediate effect of this unprecedented upheaval of global markets is the obfuscation of the clear lines of division offered by the opposing parties in the US Presidential Elections.

There is the sense that we are witnessing an unprecedented historical event; historical in the sense that we now appear to be standing astride (or atop) a cusp in history, a delta, a decision point, what is now called a point of inflection or inflection point.

Watching the nightly news and reading the traditional (for the last two centuries, that is) media, one has the distinct sense that what they perceive as unprecedented almost chaotic circumstances is actually that of the normalcy of the new reality, that of communications at the speed of light that the internet has foisted upon us.

We keep hearing about this most unusual of election cycles, but this is only true when looking through the prism (and historical construct) of the traditional news gathering operations. What is called the 24-hour News Cycle is actually just the tip of the Tsunami washing over the planet at a steady speed and ever-quicker pace.  Indeed, the nature of the beast hasn’t change at all.  It is our outdated techniques, that haven’t kept up with the new reality:  News now emanates at the speed of thought, from tens of thousands or, even, millions of sources.

The nature of a Tsunami is little understood other than the tremendous damage it unleashes when it washes ashore.  What we do know, however, is that a tsunami travels in exceedingly long waves (tens of kilometers in length) racing through the oceanic depths at hundreds of kilometers per hour.  Only upon reaching the shore is its true destructive power unleashed for all to see (if they survive to witness it at all).

In the same manner, the traditional media become transfixed with the roiling surface seas but fail to acknowledge the more sustained and significant, movements occurring just beneath the surface.

The surface swirls about in fascinating eddies, but the true transformation is occurring as the nearly undetectable waves rush through the open sea only occasionally, though dramatically, making their way onto shore.

In the same manner, the traditional media focuses on the Twenty-four-hour News Cycle but seem to miss the strong and prevalent currents immediately beneath the surface.  They vainly attempt to tie global, transformative, and unprecedented events to relatively parochial events and forces (the Reagan Years, the Clinton administration, Bush 41 and 43, the de-regulation initiatives of Alan Greenspan of  ‘99) that are being all but over-shadowed (and –whelmed) by unyielding and all-but irresistible forces.

There is an almost palpable sense and correct sense that things are 1) changing forever, 2) out of our control (or even influence), and 3) will have a direct impact upon the planet for generations to follow.

What we can control, and make sense of, however, is a candidate’s wink, smirk or disdainful reference.  We can emphatically pin down our opponents into convenient sound bites, hopefully contradicting earlier sound bites.  Do you personally take responsibility for Climate Change?  (Does the fact that New York City was beneath 5,000 feet of Ice a few dozen centuries ago influence your vote today? A yes or no will suffice!)  Is your personal philosophy, whatever it might be, grounded in a belief system that I can systematically debunk and demean.  (Yes or no.)  Are you for or against atom smashers creating miniscule black holes that may or may not swallow up the Earth?   (Answer yes and you are a barbarian; answer no and you have absolutely no respects of the future prospects of the human race.)  Did you ever consider yourself a loser (at any point in your life)?  Did you ever make the acquaintance of fellow losers?

Nevertheless, the US Presidential Election will proceed to its own conclusion on the first Tuesday of November in the year two thousand and eight.

For the preceding five years, The Global Language Monitor has attempted to clarify the course (and future course) of human events as documented in the English language.

The tools at our disposal have sometimes allowed us to peer into events and trends that become, otherwise, obscured, by the ‘noise’ of the Twenty-four Hour News Cycle.

Our goal was, and continues to be, to extricate (and explicate upon) the true currents underpinning the events we call news, and to better understand what they mean and how they are perceived with the new media reality in mind.

For example, back in the days preceding the 2004 Presidential election cycle, GLM discovered the fact that once ideas, words and phrases were launched into the vast, uncharted, oceanic Internet, they do not, indeed, die out after twenty-four hours but, rather, travel in deep, powerful currents and waves (not unlike those of a tsunami) that only grow stronger as they make their ways to distant shores.

In this new reality, tsunami-like ideas pass through vast seas of information of the Internet, nearly undetected and often unmeasured, until they crash upon our shorelines, where their full power (and possibly fury) is unleashed.

The fact that we only entertain them for 24 hours before they are dispatched into the archives of what is considered ‘past’ or ‘passed’ and readily discarded, is beyond the point.

We often hear that ‘we’ve never seen anything like this’ before.  Of course not.  Think back a few hundred years to other information revolutions, such as that introduced along with mechanical type.  What do you think the fortunate few thought when they first laid their eyes upon the works of Aristotle, the Bible, or the Arabic translations of Euclid?  No one had ever seen anything like that before!  Indeed.

And astonishment will only become more so as the future unfolds.

– Paul JJ Payack, President & Chief Word Analyst, The Global Language Monitor

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Number of Words in the English language

  • 2017 WOTY
  • Chinese Television HeadquartersAuthorities Banned Use of TV Words
  • CCTV HQ
  • Eiffel Tower IV
  • GLM Logo
  • la-modella-mafia-Anna-Dello-Russo-in-an-Anthony-Vaccarello-chainmail-mini-dress-in-Paris-1-690x1036
  • new_york_city_fashion_week-2
  • Re-Federated-United-States-2014
  • Black Hole
  • Bush Brownie GLM
  • NYTimes GLM RE Buzzwords
  • Russian Words of the Year
  • Ukraine_MasterSlave
  • Word Wall 2 - Copy
  • Zika Virus Itself
  • Ancient Greek Heroes - Copy - Copy
  • BBC News - Copy
  • best big data - Copy
  • Big Ten Logo - Copy
  • Celestial Nursery - Copy
  • College Guide Photoedited - Copy
  • NYTimes GLM RE Buzzwords - Copy
  • Obama Mission Accomplished - Copy
  • Obama Ocupy as Joker - Copy
  • On Equal Terms - Copy
  • Rio Logo - Copy
  • Syrian Boy - Copy
  • Trend TopperMediaBuzz College Guide 2015
  • TrendTopper Black hole
  • Trump 2
Global Language Monitor’s official estimate of the number of words in the English language as of November 11, 2022 is:
1,074,372.4

Official Estimate of the Number of English Words Created Every Day
14.7 words Per Day

English has continued to churn out about 14.7 neologisms per day — about 5366 words a year. However not all words are considered worthy to be added to the most authoritative and respected English-language dictionaries, the unabridged and various editions of: the Oxford English Dictionary (UK), Merriam Websters (US), American Heritage (US), Collins (UK), and Macquarie (AUS).

Global Language Monitor began recording the Top Words of the year in 2000 to document the history of the 21st Century through the English language, the world’s first truly global language. The words are culled throughout the English-speaking world, which as of January 2021 ranks more than 3.18 billion speakers.

Global Language Monitor employs its NarrativeTracker technologies for global internet and social media analysis. NarrativeTracker is based on global discourse, providing areal-time, accurate picture about any topic, at any point in time.

NarrativeTracker analyzes the internet, blogosphere, and the top 300,000 print and electronic global media as well as new social media sources as they emerge. In addition, the Global Language Monitor also tracks the Top Words, Phrases, and Names of the 21st Century.

About Global Language Monitor

Based in Austin, Texas, the Global Language Monitor collectively documents, analyzes, and tracks trends in Global English, the world’s first truly global language The company is known for its Word of the Year, political analysis, college and university rankings, high-tech buzzwords, and media analytics. For more information, visit Languagemonitor.com.

Paul JJ Payack
Global Language Monitor
+1 737-215-7750
pauljjpayack@gmail.com

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Top Words of the 21st Century (By Year)

The Top Words, Phrases, and Names of the 21st century follow.

2018:
Top Words: No. 1 Truth, No. 2 Narrative, No. 3, Opioids
Top Phrases: No 1. Weinstein Effect (and #MeToo), 2. Nuclear Option (North Korean version.), 3. Deep State
Top Names: No. 1 Donald Trump, No. 2 Vladimir Putin, No. 3 Neil Gorsuch
2017:
Top Words: No. 1 Truth, No. 2 Narrative, No. 3, Opioids
Top Phrases: No 1. Weinstein Effect (and #MeToo), 2. Nuclear Option (North Korean version.), 3. Deep State
Top Names: No. 1 Donald Trump, No. 2 Vladimir Putin, No. 3 Neil Gorsuch
2016:
Top Words: No. 1 A meme — Omran Daqneesh in Aleppo) No. 2 Refugee
Top Phrases: No. 1 Make America Great Again No. 2 When they go low, we go high No. 3 The Electoral College

 

Top Names: No. 1 Donald Trump, No. 2 Vladimir Putin, No. 3 Neil Gorsuch

 

2015:
Top Words: No. 1 Microaggression
Top Phrases: No. 1 Migrant Crisis
Top Names: No. 1 Donald J. Trump
2014:
Top Words: No. 1 The Heart ♥ Emoji (for love), No. 2 Hashtag, No. 3 Vape
Top Phrases: No. 1 Hands Up, Don’t Shoot; No. 2 Cosmic Inflation, No. 3 Global Warming

 

Top Names: No. 1 Ebola, No. 2 Pope Francis, No. 3 World War I

 

2013:
Top Words: No. 1 ’404’, No.2 Fail, No.3 Hashtag
Top Phrases: No. 1 Toxic Politics, No. 2 Federal Shutdown, No.3 Global Warming/Climate Change
Top Names: No. 1. Pope Francis, No. 2 ObamaCare, No.3 NSA
2012:
Top Words: No. 1 Apocalypse/Armageddon, No.2 Deficit, No. 3 Olympiad
Top Phrases: No. 1 Gangnam Style, No. 2 Climate Change/Global Warming, No. 3 Fiscal Cliff

 

Top Names: No. 1 Newtown and Malala Yousafzai, No. 3 Xi Jinping

 

2011:
Top Words: No. 1 Occupy, No. 2 Fracking, No.3 Drone
Top Phrases: No. 1 Arab Spring, No. 2 Royal Wedding, No.3 Anger and Rage
Top Names: No. 1 Steve Jobs, No. 2 Osama bin-laden and Seal Team Six, No. 3 Fukushima
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: Dafur
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)

About the Global Language Monitor

In 2003, The Global Language Monitor (GLM) was founded in Silicon Valley by Paul J.J. Payack on the understanding that new technologies and techniques were necessary for truly understanding the world of Big Data, as it is now known.

Today, from its home in Austin, Texas GLM provides a number of innovative products and services that utilize its ‘algorithmic services’ to help worldwide customers protect, defend and nurture their branded products and entities. Products include ‘brand audits’ to assess the current status, establish baselines, and competitive benchmarks for current intellectual assets and brands, and to defend products against ambush marketing.

These services are currently provided to the Fortune 500, the Higher Education market, high technology firms, the worldwide print, and electronic media, as well as the global fashion industry, among others.

For More Information, go to LanguageMonitor.com or call 1.737.215.7750 or email info@LanguageMonitor.com.

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GLOBAL LANGUAGE MONITOR (GLM) Names the Numerals the Top Words of the Year 2021 for Global English (#WOTY 2021)

GLM has been defining the Top Words of the 21st Century for Global English Since the Year 2000.

GLM is the only WOTY for Worldwide English

Next Big Numbers for 2022:

US:  1,000,000 Covid Deaths

World:  5,500,000 Covid Deaths

 Media Contact:  Paul JJ Payack    pjjp@post.harvard.edu, +1 (737) 215-7750

Austin, TEXAS, December 30 - January 4. The Global Language Monitor has named “the Numerals” the Top Words of the Year for 2021 for Global English.

The Covid-19 Pandemic has dominated the news in 2021 as it had in 2020.  However, It’s the numbers that accompany every story, in any language, at any time, in any medium that lift the numerals to the lofty position of Word of the Year (#WOTY).

There are, literally, hundreds of billions of permutations of the basic ten numerals   And no mention of Covid-19 is complete without a full run-down of the relevant stats.  For example, this week the media reported that “record number of U.S. COVID-19 infections, with 441,278 new cases, surpassing the previous high of about 290,000 cases reported earlier in Dec., nearly surpassing the previous daily record of 294,015 set before vaccines were widely available last January”.

The seven-day moving average is now more than 240,000 cases a day.

The Heart emoji was the Top Word of 2014 the first time a symbol took the honor, though the hashtag # also made the 2014 list.

The Top Words of the Year 2021 for Global English follow.

  1. The Numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 0) – Every time Covid (or one of its variants) is mentioned, it is surrounded by three to five numbers. Covid-19 currently has about 4 billion citations on Google, which are accompanied by tens of billions of supporting numbers.
  2. Covid-19 – Word of the Year in 2020, could be word of the year in 2022. perhaps for the decade? Perhaps the 21st century?
  3. Wokeness – The state of being awakened to the social distresses found amongst us. Though this appears to occur for every generation it is used by politicians as a never-before-witnessed phenomenon.  Favored by Progressives.
  4. Variant – The longer the coronavirus persists, the more variations will emerge. Remember the great plague in London in 1666?  It was merely a replay of the bubonic plague of the mid-1300s. And the Hong Kong Flu?  A replay of the Spanish Flu of the World War 1 era.
  5. The Pronouns – People have been attempting to re-define their language for their own political purposes, at least since the French Revolution. The Marxists expanded the practice, right comrade?  The practice increased during the Sexual Revolution (Ms., etc.) and continues to grow during the recent ‘racial reckoning.  And today, the Woke among us are attempting to use personal “woke pronouns” to help define their sexual orientation (and yours).

Here is a list of gender-neutral pronouns:

He/She — Zie, Sie, Ey, Ve, Tey, E

Him/Her — Zim, Sie, Em, Ver, Ter, Em

His/Her — Zir, Hir, Eir, Vis, Tem, Eir

His/Hers — Zis, Hirs, Eirs, Vers, Ters, Eirs

Himself/Herself — Zieself, Hirself, Eirself, Verself, Terself, Emself

  1. “Flatten the Curve.” – Don’t hear too many discussing ‘Flattening the Curve” nowadays.
  2. Supply Chain – You knew the global economy was linked in ways never before imagined. Now you KNOW it.
  3. Cancel Culture – A movement to negate whatever political speech you find inconvenient. Particularly strong on college campuses.
  4. Latinx – Gender-neutral version for people of Hispanic heritage, formerly Latino ad Latina.   I am planning to refer to myself henceforward as HUMANX.
  5. D Variant – Another Covid-19 variant
  6. Omicrom – Yet another Covid variant. This can go on for decades (see above).
  7. Coronavirus – Human coronavirus was first identified in the mid-1960s. Unfortunately, Covid-19 will be far from the last encounter.
  8. Joe Biden – 46th and current President of the United States. Biden has about one half the number of citations as his predecessor.
  9. Donald Trump – 45th president of the United States. Trump has twice as many current citations as his successor, Joe Biden.
  10. Tokyo Olympics – The 2021, nee 2020 Olympics were a modest disappointment, nevertheless a major achievement to have taken place in the midst of a raging worldwide pandemic
  11. Lockdown – At the end of the various national lockdowns; many felt like they had been locked up.
  12. WHO – The World Health Organization, whose charter requires it to help attain “the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health”.
  13. Global Warming – ‘Climate Change’ and/or ‘Global Warming’ have ranked near the top of this list for the entire century, thus far.
  14. January 6 Event at the U.S. Capitol Building, according to Global Citations 1) Attack, 2) Uprising, 3} Insurrection.
  15. Vaccine – Operation Warp Speed has begot a number of vaccines with others, no doubt, to follow.
  16. Afghanistan – The fall and unseemly retreat from Afghanistan cast a pall over an already somber year.

Global Language Monitor began recording the Top Words of the Year in 2000 to document the history of the 21st Century through the English language, the world’s first truly global language. The words are culled throughout the English-speaking world, which as of January 2021 ranks more than 3.18 billion speakers. Global Language Monitor employs its NarrativeTracker technologies for global internet and social media analysis.

NarrativeTracker is based on global discourse, providing a real-time, accurate picture about any topic, at any point in time. NarrativeTracker analyzes the internet, blogosphere, and the top 300,000 print and electronic global media as well as new social media sources as they emerge.

In addition, the Global Language Monitor has also tracked the Top Words, Phrases and Names of the 21st Century.

More information about these and the company can be found at https://languagemonitor.com/about/about-2/About Global Language Monitor

Based in Austin, Texas, the Global Language Monitor collectively documents, analyzes and tracks trends in language usage worldwide, with a particular emphasis upon the English language. The company is known for its Word of the Year, political analysis, college and university rankings, high-tech buzzwords, and media analytics. For more information, visit Languagemonitor.com.

Media Contact::  Paul JJ Payack

President & Chief Word Analyst
The Global Language Monitor

Austin, Texas 78717
pjjp@post.harvard.edu Private Email

 

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Austin as Creative Hub Sparks Unlikely Partnership Between author Paul JJ Payack and filmmaker Francois Larosa

Payack is a high-tech executive and Paris Review poet and Larosa is an award-winning filmmaker, Screenwriter, and Director

 

AUSTIN, TX, UNITED STATES, October 21, 2021, The world is well aware of Austin’s pre-eminence as a political, educational, and high-tech center with an art scene centered on ‘the live music capital of the world’ vibe. However, when Paul JJ Payack and Francois Larosa found themselves living in the same far northwest Austin neighborhood, a creative partnership ensued. The collaboration combined Larosa’s award-winning filmmaking (and script-writing) talents with Payack’s metafictions and pioneering ‘steam punk’ collages.

Children of the Mind Has Won the MLMTV 2022 Excellence in Fiction Award to be Presented in Miami on January 19,

When Payack moved his company, the Global Language Monitor, to Austin in 2008, the Austin Statesman headlined, “Finally, Something Good Comes from California”. Unknown to Payack, at the same time, Larosa, a native Texan, moved to Austin where he launched his film production company, Starfield Productions. After their initial discussions, they soon decided to adapt one of Payack’s earlier metafictions, the Children of the Mind novella into a gripping 1960s’-era psychological thriller involving mind control, the CIA, and US Amy secret labs.

Children of the Mind, as a creative endeavor, spans some forty years, encompassing several genres on its journey to its creation.”

— Paul JJ Payack, President and Chief Word Analyst of GLM.

 

Payack and Larosa have reshaped the original tale from one in which the imagination is outlawed and people need a license to dream into a more contemporary rendering involving government Mind Control research labs in the early 60s/70s to the present day. This suspenseful novella adds in Larosa’s trademark psychological thriller aspect, the hallmark of Larosa’s writing. The book starts in 1968 as a kid watching a TV Series called The Time Tunnel, with him wondering, “How did they think of that, and the technology?” Later on, he discovers that his own Government was really experimenting with that very technology AND also involving children,

Both editions are available from wherever books are sold. Amazon offers both original (paperback) and updated (ebook) versions:

This is Larosa’s first foray into science fiction. Payack has published his metafiction worldwide for some forty years.

For interviews call 1.737.215.7750 or email pjjp@post.harvard.edu

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“Dispatch From the Front Lines”, Paul JJ Payack’s Historic 9/11 Collage-Narrative Now Available for Download


Austin, TEXAS.  September 27, 2021 — On 9/11/2021. the Global Language Monitor, released a free, downloadable edition of Paul JJ Payack’s historic “Dispatch from the Front Lines” collage narrative series.

Payack created the series in the immediate aftermath of the Bush Administrations’ debriefing in Washington, DC just days after the 9/11 attacks. Payack’s creation commemorates the 20th Anniversary of the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a third target, presumably the White House or the US Capitol Building, which was thwarted by the passenger uprising on Flight 93.

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Such was the overwhelming response to the offer, the Global Language Monitor has announced that it will continue to encourage free downloads of the document as a public, historical, service. Also, signed, numbered editions are now available for a nominal fee. And NFTs of the original, historic documents, individual collages will be made available in the coming months.

  • Paris is the Reigning Top Global Fashion Capital


Background: Immediately after Payack and his wife Millie attended a closed-door, invitation-only, private briefing by the George W. Bush Administration. Payack sought to encapsulate all the thoughts, hopes and fears encapsulated in that particular moment,

“Dispatch From the Front Lines” was created by Payack, working deep into the night on October 27th, 2001. That evening the Payacks were escorted through hermetically sealed tunnels from specifically outfitted, bomb-proof and poison gas-resistant vehicles to the scene of the debriefing and then to their secure accommodations.

Payack had prepared for this moment by assembling the tools he would need to create the collage narrative, the night before in Danville, California. In D.C., he proceeded to create the collage narrative under the watchful eye of a waxing Autumn Moon overlooking the White House and the piercing, haunting vision of the Washington obelisk in the crisp autumn air.

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British lose the knack for conjuring up new words

John Harlow, Los Angeles
The Sunday Times
The UK is only the sixth-largest country in which English is a common language
The UK is only the sixth-largest country in which English is a common language

English has shrugged off many challengers to become the world’s leading language but the creative contribution of “British English” speakers to the global vocabulary is fading fast, eclipsed by linguistic innovators in technology, international call centres, and film franchises, according to data analysis to be published next week.

The UK still punches above its demographic weight in colourful areas such as politics, royalty, and sex, says research from the Global Language Monitor (GLM), which advises corporations on linguistic shifts.

British words now found around the world include 53X, for sex; Tope, for totally dope or extremely good; and, inevitably, Brexit and Megxit.

But the percentage of new British words adding to the total mass of English-derived words employed around the world has been falling since Queen Victoria’s reign.

The contribution is set to fall further, from 10 percent today to 3 percent by 2060, predicts the report, The Rise and Fall of England as a Word Generator.

[Read the entire article on the Sunday Times site.]