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Concerns over the environment and terrorism have not only affected how people lived in the past decade but also their language, with "global warming" and "9/11" topping a list of the most used words of the 2000s.
The Global Language Monitor, which uses a math formula to track the frequency of words and phrases in print and electronic media, said "Obama" came third in the list with the surname of U.S. President Barack Obama used as the stem for other words.
"Bailout" was listed fourth after the bank bailout was one of the first acts of the financial crisis, "evacuee" came fifth in the wake of Hurricane Katrina devastating New Orleans, and "derivative" featured sixth.
"Google," "surge," "Chinglish" meaning a hybrid of Chinese and English, and "tsunami," after the 2004 Asian disaster that left 230,000 people dead or missing, followed.
"Looking at the first decade of the 21st century in words is a sober, even somber, event," said Paul JJ Payack, president of The Global Language Monitor.
"For a decade that began with such joy and hope, the words chosen depict a far more complicated and in many ways, tragic time. Nevertheless, signs of hope and renewal can be found in the overall lists."
Payack said the top phrase of the decade was "climate change" followed by "financial tsunami" and "Ground Zero."
Technology's impact on the past decade was reflected in the list with "Twitter," the micro-blogging site, one of the most used words while "blog" and "texting" featured on the list.
Hollywood continued to flex its muscle, with "slumdog" from the Oscar-winning film "Slumdog Millionaire," referring to child inhabitants of Mumbai slums, making its mark in global language. U.S. comedian Stephen Colbert's "truthiness," defined as truth that comes from the gut not books, came in at No. 25.
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(Agencies)
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過去十年，對于環(huán)境問題和恐怖主義的擔憂不僅影響了人們的生活，而且還影響了我們的語言。從2000年至今，“全球變暖”和“9?11”成為全世界使用頻率最高的詞語。
據(jù)全球語言監(jiān)測機構介紹，美國總統(tǒng)巴拉克·奧巴馬的姓氏“奧巴馬”的使用頻率高居第三，同時這個名字還派生出了很多其它詞語。全球語言監(jiān)測機構使用一種數(shù)學模型來追蹤詞和短語在紙質(zhì)和電子媒體中出現(xiàn)的頻率。
“援助”位居第四，這個詞指的是金融危機發(fā)生后各國對銀行實施救援的第一反應；“疏散者”名列第五，該詞與新奧爾良遭遇的卡特里娜颶風有關；“金融衍生產(chǎn)品”位居第六。
排在其后的詞語包括“谷歌”、“增兵”、中英雜交式英語“中式英語”以及2004年發(fā)生于亞洲的“海嘯”，這場災難導致23萬人死亡或失蹤。
全球語言監(jiān)測機構的主席保羅?JJ?帕亞克說：“用詞語來回顧21世紀的第一個十年，感覺很黯淡甚至有些陰郁?！?/font>
“新世紀剛開始時，世界充滿了快樂和希望，但十年后的今天，上榜的這些詞匯描繪了一個更為復雜、在很多方面帶有悲劇意味的時代。盡管如此，與希望和復興有關的詞語還是能在整個榜單中找到的。”
帕亞克說，過去十年出現(xiàn)頻率最高的短語是“氣候變化”，“金融風暴”和“世貿(mào)大廈遺址”位居其后。
技術對過去十年的影響也在榜單中得到了體現(xiàn)，使用頻率很高的“推特”（微型博客網(wǎng)站）、“博客”和“發(fā)短信”等詞語紛紛上榜。
好萊塢的影響力不減當年，源自奧斯卡獲獎影片《貧民窟的百萬富翁》中的“貧民”一詞成為世界流行詞，指的是居住在孟買貧民窟里的兒童。美國喜劇明星史蒂芬?科爾波特發(fā)明的“真實”（truthiness）一詞排在第25位，該詞被定義為”一種主觀以為的真實，而非基于事實的真實“。
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（英語點津陳丹妮 姍姍編輯）
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