Top Ten Words of the Year

The Top 10 Words of the Year Are...

"Twitter" is No. 1, according to the Global Language Monitor annual survey of the English language, which just goes to show how social networking has become so ubiquitous.

"In a year dominated by world-shaking political events, a pandemic, the aftereffects of a financial tsunami and the death of a revered pop icon, the word Twitter stands above all the other words," said Paul JJ Payack, President of The Global Language Monitor. "Twitter represents a new form of social interaction, where all communication is reduced to 140 characters. Being limited to strict formats did wonders for the sonnet and haiku. One wonders where this highly impractical word-limit will lead as the future unfolds."

The top 10 words of 2009:

1. Twitter: The ability to encapsulate human thought in 140 characters.

2. Obama: The word stem transforms into scores of new words, such as ObamaCare.

3. H1N1: The formal (and politically correct) name for swine flu.

4. Stimulus: The $800 billion aid package meant to help mend the U.S. economy.

5. Vampire: Vampires are very much en vogue, now the symbol of unrequited love.

6. 2.0: The 2.0 suffix is attached to the next generation of everything.

7. Deficit: Lessons from history are dire warnings here.

8. Hadron: Ephemeral particles subject to collision in the Large Hadron Collider.

9. Healthcare: The direction of which is the subject of intense debate in the United States.

10. Transparency: An elusive goal for which many 21st century governments are striving.


The top 10 phrases of 2009:

1. King of Pop: Elvis was '"The King," so Michael Jackson had to settle for "King of Pop."

2. Obama-mania: One of the scores of words from the Obama-word stem.

3. Climate Change: Considered politically neutral compared to global warming.

4. Swine Flu: Popular name for the illness caused by the H1N1 virus.

5. Too Large to Fail: Institutions that are deemed necessary for financial stability.

6. Cloud Computing: Using the Internet for a variety of computer services.

7. Public Option: The ability to buy health insurance from a government entity.

8. Jai Ho!: A Hindi shout of joy or accomplishment.

9. Mayan Calendar: Consists of various "cycles," one of which ends on 12/21/2012.

10. God Particle: The Hadron, believed to hold the secrets of the Big Bang.

--From the Editors at Netscape