‘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 18^th 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.