60% of new words in 2009 Collegiate were born before today’s college students
‘New’ words average age — 29 years
Austin, TX July 16, 2009, (MetaNewswire) – Is Merriam-Webster its own worst frenemy? The answer to that question can perhaps be answered by the upcoming release of its Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition with the addition of almost 100 new words and word meanings (or senses). The average of these “new words” is twenty-nine years, according to Merriam-Webster’s itself. [Read more.]
Analysis: Seismic Shift to Internet in the Reporting
.of News as Evidenced by Death of Michael Jackson
“The Death of Michael Jackson has become a case study in the growing disparity between the mainstream global media and their newer Internet incarnations,” said Paul JJ Payack, President and Chief Word Analyst of the Global Language Monitor.
“The world has, indeed, witnessed a seismic shift in the reporting, analysis, and selection of news as evidenced by the recent death of Michael Jackson. In this regard, it appears as if the people have ‘voted with their clicks’ that the Internet is now an equal (if not senior) partner to the global print and electronic media.
London Telegraph: Michael Jackson’s Death Second Biggest Story of Century
The cyber-reporting of recent events in Iran only underscores this new (and growing) phenomenon.”
.
Analysis: Michael Jackson funeral tops those of Pope John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, Princess Diana and Mother Teresa
Measured Global Print and Electronic Media from Day of Death to Day after Funeral
.
Austin, TX July 9, 2009– In an exclusive analysis performed by the Global Language Monitor, the death of Michael Jackson, the entertainment icon, has been found to be the Top Funeral in the Global Print and Electronic Media over the last dozen years . Jackson moved ahead of Pope John Paul II, whose funeral in 2005 previously set the standard.
The results follow:
- Michael Jackson, June 25 – July 8, 2009
- Pope John Paul II, April 2 – April 9, 2005
- Ronald Reagan, June 5 – June 10, 2004
- Mother Teresa, September 5 – September 14, 1997
- Princess Diana, August 31 – September 7, 1997
The death, aftermath, and funeral of Michael Jackson had some 18% more stories in the global print and electronic media than that of Pope John Paul II in 2005. The analysis covered the Top 5,000 print and electronic media sites, but excluded blogs and social media since they did not have a significant presence throughout the entire period of measurement.
“The death of Michael Jackson, and the media frenzy surrounding of its aftermath and his funeral, has moved Michael Jackson to the forefront of coverage of similar prominent deaths over the last dozen years,” said Paul JJ Payack, president and chief word analyst of GLM. Other prominent passings include those of Pope John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, Princess Diana and Mother Teresa. “The strength (and depth) of the global media coverage only adds to his already significant legacy and shows no sign of abetting.”
When measured in terms total web presence, Jackson outdistances Ronald Reagan, at No. 2, by more a factor of 10.
The results follow:
- Michael Jackson, died in 2009
- Ronald Reagan, died in 2004
- Pope John Paul II, died in 2005
- Princess Diana, died in 1997
- Mother Teresa, died in 1997
.
Jackson Joins yet another Hall of Fame
Michael Jackson Death No. 2 Internet Story of 21st Century
Internet No. 2 (to Obama’s Election); Mainstream Media Ranking No.9
Austin, TX June 29, 2009 (MetaNewswire) - The death of Michael Jackson, the entertainment icon, is now one of the top stories of the 21st century, according to a analysis released by the Global Language Monitor (www.LanguageMonitor.com). In the 72 hours after his death, Jackson jumped to the No. 9 spot for the global print and electronic media. For Internet, blogs and social media, Jackson jumped to the No.2, only trailing the election of Barack Obama to the presidency of the United States. The results showed the growing disparity between the mainstream global media, and what is playing out for news on the Internet, and beyond.
The citations for Michael Jackson in the Mainstream Media numbered in the thousands; his citations on the Internet, and beyond numbered in the millions. The analysis tracked news stories within the first seventy-two hours after the event. The events include in descending order of Internet citations include: The Obama election, the death of Michael Jackson, the Iraq War, the Beijing Olympics, the Financial Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, the death of Pope John Paul II, the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks and the Asian Tsunami.
Citations for the election of Barack Obama are five times greater than that of No. 2, Michael Jackson. In turn, the death of Michael Jackson is cited more than double than those for the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003.
“The death of Michael Jackson has resulted in a global media event of the first order” said Paul JJ Payack, president and chief word analyst of GLM. “The fact that he has broken into the top media events of the 21st century is a testament to the global impact of the man and his music.”
.
.
Linguists Fret as the World Celebrates Global English
.
- Lexicography 2.0: The Chambers Reference Editor’s blog
- Having Gained its Millionth Word, English Marches On (July 20)
- English is the Word Millionaire (20 Minuten) June 22
- Simon Winchester: ”On the Joys of our truly Global Language” — London Telegraph
- Word Nerd from ABC Nightline (Video)
- BBC News ‘Today’ Show, English Reaches Million Word Milestone (Audio)
- English Passes a Million Words — La Stampa
- GLM’s Answers Frequently Asked Questions about the Million Word March
- The Words in the Mental Cupboard (BBC Magazine)
- English Acquires its One Millionth Word (The Times)
- Ars Technica
- Computerworld
- Christian Science Monitor
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.
‘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
- The million words milestone(06.26)
- Millionth word milestone reached(05.26)
The Million Word March in Smithsonian Magazine
.
THE WORLD IN WORDS: Top Words of 2008
.
The WordMan’s Guide to Global English!
