Every year, Global Language Monitor carries out a statistical analysis of the English language used online and in the media. The company then releases a list of the 'top words' of the year. Some of last year's buzz words included apocalypse and Olympiad, while this year it seems like failure is a particularly prevalent trend.
Topping the list, which you can find here, is '404' - the error code many websites display when they're inaccessible, overloaded or temporarily offline. Visitors often encounter it when they follow a broken link or try to access a non-existent page. In the US, it's a number (or word, as it's referred to as by GLM) that has become synonymous in 2013 with a number of high-profile website hackings and, most prominently, the disastrous launch of the much-vaunted ObamaCare health insurance website.
Appropriately, in second place is 'fail', which is self-explanatory for anyone who has ever visited an online message board or watched a comical mishap on YouTube. Other trending words to make the top ten include hashtag, surveillance, drones and deficit. Twerking ranks at number 13.
Global Language Monitor's Paul JJ Payack says "the recent ObamaCare launch debacle in the US is only a representative example of a much wider system fail, from the political deadlock in the US Government, to the decline of the dollar, to the global web of intrigue and surveillance by the NSA, to the uncertainty regarding the European Union, and the on-going integration of China and other rising powers, such as India and Brazil into the global economic system."
As well as individual words, the GLM survey also reveals phrases and names that gained particular traction during the year. 'Toxic politics' - described as "American-style scorch-and-burn political campaigns becoming the norm for democracies worldwide" - tops the phrase list, followed by federal shutdown, global warming / climate change and federal deficit. Breaking Bad proves its cultural impact, with 'tread lightly' rounding out the top five.
In terms of names, Pope Francis is the most talked about individual. ObamaCare, NSA and Edward Snowden were also particular talking points, as were Kate Middleton and her newborn child Prince George.
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