I saw news from the good folks over at Langology that the Global Language Monitor has already published its Top Words of 2010 list. The top 3 results they list from their “annual global survey of the English language” are: “Spillcam”, from the BP oil spill coverage; “vuvuzela” of World Cup fame; and “The Narrative”, as employed by political parties in the current day and age. The site also lists “The Top Phrases of 2010″ and “The Top Names of 2009″ (2010?), all of which are definitely worth a look. And, considering that it’s only the middle of November, we’re likely to see many more such lists appearing in coming weeks.
But doesn’t it feel like something is already missing here? No, I’m not just talking about the fact that there’s no mention of the methods used and the scale of the GLM survey. I’m talking about the assumption that the “Top 10 Words of 2010″ should necessarily be in English! (well, we can argue about “vuvuzela”…)
Seriously, at a time when we often see articles telling us that we are living in the age of language death, and that English has the most vocabulary and greatest number of synonyms of all languages in the world, shouldn’t there be a list of the top words in other languages? After all, folks, this is International Education Week and all…
Well, here’s your chance to make that list! Please add comments below with your vote for the Top (non-English) Words of 2010. Teach us a word and how to spell it or say it, tell us a little about what it means, why it’s popular, where you heard it or read it or how you learned it. And even if you don’t know these things – and even if you’re just starting to learn a new language and your word might not be all that trendy this year in fact, or if it actually dates from 2008 or 1694 – introduce us to your word and something special about it.
Thanks, everyone! And, in the meantime: bzzzzzzzzzzz….
Cross-posted from Found in Translation.
Funny stuff. I have never heard of such a list. Well, english is the most spoken language in the world, isn’t it? I really doubt that anyone would suggest a top ten list for my own language, norwegian:) Around 4,5 million people speak this language. But maybe Spanish, German or Italian would be good candidates?! — Ray
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Nesrin, thanks for following up on this. If I have occasion, I’ll definitely ask about it. By the way, if you or others are interested in maybe saying more about this or another word or expression (or misinterpretation of such expressions across cultural boundaries) we’d love to hear from you on Found in Translation–the link to the blog is at the end of this post just above the comments. You can be in touch with the admins there at “foundintranslation.admin AT gmail DOT com”.
I wonder, after all this, do you have a recommendation for a 2010 Word of the Year from Egypt?
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Dave, I think Janus’s comment was an attempt at making a joke in bad taste – the Egyptian phrase he’s proposing is actually quite obscene and couldn’t possibly be a greeting among young Egyptians in “discoteques”, unless he’s been to some very dodgy places (not ruling that out).
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It’s nice to see these nominees, Janus and Dburns. I think I’ll try “mumkin ashoof zibak” with a friend from Cairo and see what happens. And reading these comments makes me think, it’d be really neat to be able to see or hear these expressions in context, being used. Are there any sites, articles, songs, videos etc. that feature them prominently?
The original post on FIT has comments on Egyptian Arabic too, as well as Finnish, Japanese, and Norwegian.
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Co je? I lived in Prague until recently, and unlike German or English blurting out WHAT?! is not considered rude or offensive in any way. It took me some time bit soon I was following the masses and “co je” became a daily phrase.
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I just came back from Cairo. In all the “discoteques” young men greet each other with the vernacular equivalent of “what’s cracking?” or “mumkin ashoof zibak?”. I didn’t notice this a few years ago but since I started hanging around with the younger guys in the club scene this past year, I’ve been hearing it all the time.
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