"GLOBAL warming" is at the top of the Global Language Monitor's (GLM) Political-sensitivity Quotient Index (PQI). The PQI covers the Top Political Buzzwords. Four of the Top Five are: Al-qaeda, Ethanol, Conservative Politics, Osama bin Laden.
GLM's PQI is a system that measures what people are actually talking about on the web, blogs, in global print and electronic media. GLM ran the PQI this month, a few weeks before the US Midterm Election on November 7.
For the past three years, GLM has been tracking political buzzwords as they appear in newspapers, television, radio and on the Internet. Since it analyzes words and phrases in political contexts, PQI has been cited by major global media hundreds of times.
GLM has set December 31, 2005 as the beginning date of its analysis. It has tracked some fifty buzzwords on a monthly basis since then. This is the first release of the PQI for the 2006 US Midterm Election.
Using the PQI system, GLM has been able to see which political buzzwords and catchphrases are moving in and out of use. This reflects what the media are writing about. In fact, some of the top buzzwords GLM tracked were words and phrases that looked at the election through the prism of moral values from both a right and left perspective.
GLM says PQI can create "signals" that can be used in a variety of applications. If the present signal is true, both the Democrats and Republicans should focus on the issues that are driving what's reflected in the PQI. For example, Mark Foley, a Republican Congressman involved in a scandal about sexually explicit e-mail and instant messages sent to teenage male congressional workers, appears at No. 43. But Al-qaeda (a group formed by Osama bin Laden in 1988) and Osama bin Laden rank as No. 2 and 5. The PQI seems to indicate that national security ranks far above the Foley scandal. It also indicates that the American people know precisely who the enemy are.
Other interesting buzzwords include: Bird Flu, Supreme Court Nomination, Impeach Bush, Religious right, Immigration. 21ST
The Top 5 Political Buzzwords
1. Global Warming: This is a specific example of the more general term "climate change" which can also include "global cooling".
GLM's Comment: Opponents of the US President's policies prefer "global warming" to the supposedly more neutral "climate change", though the difference is meaningless to those who study language.
2. Al-qaeda: also known as "the Base", which has carried out suicide bombings, hijackings and other terrorist attacks.
GLM's Comment: High in the consciousness of the American people.
3. Ethanol (also E85): An alternative motor vehicle fuel, which is usually blended in a mixture of 85 per cent ethanol and 15 per cent unleaded gasoline, therefore E85.
GLM's Comment: The yellow fuel far outdistances the "gas crisis".
4. Conservative Politics: Conservative or right-wing groups generally support free enterprise. In the United States, the Conservatives generally argue for a strong national defence programme and oppose federal involvement in social welfare
GLM's Comment: Good, bad or indifferent, "conservative" is on everyone's lips.
5. Osama bin Laden: Considered the world's foremost terrorist. Osama bin Laden is the leader of Al-Qaeda.
GLM's Comment: Still ever present, lurking just beneath the surface.
