word of the year Tag

Google and Yahoo’s Search Terms of 2009

2009It’s hard to believe that today we entered the last month of the year.  This is the time of year where it seems Barbara Walters reviews just about anything and everything from the year.  From news events to the people that made headlines, and I’m sure In the weeks ahead, we will be seeing an abundance of reports and reviews from the past year.  We’ve already started with them.  Just last week, CNN showcased their Heroes of the Year show, while NBC aired ‘People of the Year.’

While the year were filled with high and lows, both Google & Yahoo have released the top search terms for 2009.  (more…)

Social Media Words Enter Official Lexicon

Picture 3“Word: something that is said. A speech sound or series of speech sounds that symbolizes and communicates a meaning usually without being divisible into smaller units capable of independent use.”  That’s the definition of a word, according to Merriam-Webster. 

The world is full of them.  In fact, there are more than 258,000 words in the English language.  They range from everyday words to silly words like supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.  While most of us can actually pronounce supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, the longest word in the English dictionary is Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, which I’m not sure anyone can really pronounce.  Want to try pronouncing Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahul? No, I didn’t just hit a bunch of keys on the keyboard, either.  It’s actually the Maori name for a hill in New Zealand, and is officially the world’s longest name for a place.

These past few years, pop culture influenced which words make it into the English dictionary. Beyonce’s “Bootylicious” was added to the dictionary a few years ago, while the world of Harry Potter helped “muggle,” a person who possesses no magical powers, reserve a spot in the English dictionary as well.  While pop culture has had a significant impact on the world, it looks like it has stepped aside as social media starts to influence the world even more. (more…)

© 2005 –