The Top Politically-sensitive Words for the First Half of 2005:
from www.languagemonitor.com, a great site for watching the language change.
No. 1: Throes
Comment: Cheneys Last Throes remark appears to fly in the face of the Administrations tight discipline.
Factor: The fastest riser in the Index by far (up nearly 500% in month).
No. 2: Quagmire
Comment: Actually means quaking mire and as the Insurgency continues, the quagmire cry escalates.
Factor: Up nearly 1500% for the year.
No. 3: Credibility (Bush/Cheney)
Comment: Series of missteps in usually disciplined media machine apparently causing a problem.
Factor: Up 300% in month.
No. 4: Insurgency
Comment: By definition, you dont know the true last throes of a battle until its actually over.
Factor: Up some 300% in the month.
No. 5: European Union (Dead)
Comment: Though quietly spoken of all year, the French and the Dutch NO votes caused a spike here.
Factor: Up 1600% for the year.
No. 6: Schaivo
Comment: She has come to stand for a far greater battle than that between her husband and her family.
Factor: The numbers continue to rise, even after her death.
No. 7: Supreme Court
Comment: The stakes are particularly high this year and the numbers show it.
Factor: Up over 800% for the year.
No. 8: Likeability (Bush)
Comment: According to the PQI, Bush and likeability are still rising despite recent problems.
Factor: Up about 250% as supporters apparently rally round their W.
No. 9: Incurious
Comment: Bush seems impervious to the incurious charge though the numbers rise modestly.
Factor: Charge remains as a low hum in the background.
No. 10: Activist Judges
Comment: How come we never here alarming reports about inActivist judges?
Factor: Up over 900% for the year
No. 11: Nuclear Option
Comment: Its been cited in the media over 100,000 times; can someone please explain it to the public?
Factor: Up 1800% for the year.
No. 12: John Paul II
Comment: Still casting a long shadow, longer still in his absence.
Factor: Up another 200% in the preceding month.
No. 13: Persistent Vegetative State
Comment: You have to wonder if the sudden rise in the last month is referring to the state of the Congress.
Factor: Up 200% in the last month.
No. 14: Out of the Mainstream
Comment: There should be a rule: If 50% of the public supports an issue, pols cant make an out of the mainstream argument.
Factor: Up 200% for the month.
No. 15: Filibuster
Comment: From the Spanish, Filibusteer.
Factor: With all the talk of the nuclear option, the filibuster ranks among the top political terms few actually understand.
Other words being tracked for the index include bubble, the Indian Ocean tsunami, and Hillary Clinton.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home