Global Language Monitor’s 16th Annual Survey of Global English
Documenting the year 2015 through English-language word usage
Microagression is the Top Word, Donald J. Trump the Top Name, and Migrant Crisis the Top Phrase, of 2015.
“The English language continues its ever deeper penetration into global consciousness. Some are wary of the consequences of a single language (of the 7,000 extant human tongues) dominating the Linguasphere.” said Paul JJ Payack, President and Chief Word Analyst of the Global Language Monitor. “The English Language is continuing a remarkable transformation not witnessed since the Bard created nearly 2000 new words during his lifetime (1564-1616).
The Top Words of 2015 follow.
Rank / Word / Comments
- Microaggression — The brief, everyday exchanges that send mostly unintended derogatory messages to members of various minority groups. Related to the following terms:
- Safe Space — In universities protecting students feelings by warning of subject matter that might elicit discomfit or distress.
- Trigger — Any action that might elicit feelings of discomfit or distress.
- Unsafe — The feelings a student encounters when without warning they are confronted with subject matter or situations that have elicited feelings of discomfit or distress.
- Snowflake — What unconcerned students call those with the need for safe spaces and warnings about possible trigger events.
- White Privilege — Societal privileges that benefit people identified as white in Western countries, beyond what is commonly experienced by non-white people under the same social, political, or economic circumstances.
- Climate Changing — GLM will now use the gerund form of the verb ‘change’ to recognize the fact of ongoing, continuous change in the Earth’s Climate. Related terms:
- Anthropocene — the current geological age, viewed as the period during in which human activity has been a significant influence on climate and the environment;
- Anthropogenic — used to describe the effect of humans on the climate and the environment
- Refugee — A term used to describe migrants that were forced from their homeland by war or civil unrest.
- Migrant — A term that includes refugees from economic, climatological changes, and others issues not directly related to war.
- Thug — Brought to renewed attention by President Obama; from the Hindi (and Sanskrit) words describing Aryan assassins.
- Trans — Abbreviation for transgender, people who identify with the opposite of their physical characteristics.
- Content — The Top Business Buzzword of 2015
- Affluenza — A theoretical malaise affecting wealthy young people, symptoms of which include a lack of motivation, feelings of guilt, and a sense of isolation.
- Opioids — In the US, opioid painkillers and heroin are responsible for as more deaths than from automobiles and gun violence combined.
- Evolve — The evolution of the word ‘flip-flop’ in political jargon. More like ‘survival of the fittest,’ it only occurs until the voters first shift their views on a particular subject.
The Top Names of 2015
Rank /Name / Comments
- Donald J. Trump — The US presidential contender who appears to be re-writing the rules of American political decorum
- Alan Kurdi — The Syrian three-year-old whose dead body washed ashore in Bodrum, Turkey, the photo of which caused global outrage.
- Pope Francis — The most highly cited name, again.
- Xi Jinping — “Steady as she goes,” as his term proceeds as China’s paramount leader.
- Middle East Terrorists — Exporting death squads into the West with impunity.
- Putin — Short of stature, long on action.
- Angela Merkel — Under Merkel, Germany has accomplished its erstwhile goal of dominating Europe.
- Falcon 9 — The safe landing of its initial stage has been described as marking a historic step in the history of Humanity
- El Nino — Already there is 5x the normal snowpack in the Sierra.
- Princess Charlotte of Cambridge. 10-a. HRH Georgie — Nickname of Prince George of Cambridge, son of ‘Wills and Kate.
The Top Phrases of 2015
Rank / Phrase / Comment
-
- Migrant Crisis — Migrant Crisis summarizes the movement of some one million migrants and/or refugees from the Middle East to Europe (predominately from Syria, Irag and, Afganistan), as well as North African countries. This is the largest human migration since World War II.
- Je Suis Charlie — Representing the universal outcry against terrorist violence, such as witnessed most recently in San Bernardino.
- Almond Shaming — Forty gallons of water to grow a single almond?
- Nation State — The migrant Crisis in Europe and the Middle East are examples of trans-national crises that transcend the idea of the Nation State. (The Nation State arose in the late 15th century with the rise of capitalism, geography, and cartography.
- Rogue nukes — Despite the new treaty, the fact remains that Iran can now assemble a bomb in a fortnight.
- Anatomically Modern Human — A class of hominids that lived as recently as 12,000 years ago.
- Beast Mode — Going all out, excessively so, in the take-no-prisoners style of Marshawn Lynch (American football).
- End of World Scenarios — A switch from previous years where clarion calls are being issued by the likes of Steven Hawking and other scientists.
- Digital Darkness — What happens if we can no longer access digital information? A distinct possibility at some future point. Unsolicited Advice: Keep hard copies of beloved photos.
- Evolve — The evolution of the word ‘flip-flop’ in political jargon. More like ‘survival of the fittest,’ it never occurs until the voters first shift their position.
- Two-child Policy — To the relief of much of the world, China officially relaxed its One-Child Policy.
Data Mining Global English for Big-Data Based Analysis
Methodology: GLM’s Word of the Year rankings are based upon actual word usage throughout the English-speaking world, which now numbers more than 1.83 billion people. 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 professional or social group or geography. The goal is to find the word usage that will endure the test of time.
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)
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