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'Royal wedding,' 'winning' deemed top TV words

China Daily, September 21, 2011

• Britain's Prince William (L) and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, leave after their wedding ceremony in Westminster Abbey, in central London April 29, 2011.[Photo/Agencies]

  "Royal wedding" and "winning" (as in Charlie Sheen's catch-phrase) were the two most used phrases on television in 2011, according to a survey released on Tuesday.

  The rantings of the former "Two and A Half Men" actor beat "Arab Spring" and Simon Cowell's "The X Factor" singing show when it came to dominating TV screens in the official 2010-11 U.S. TV season, the Global Language Monitor said.

  "This is apparently shaping up to be the Year of Kate (Middleton). She has come to dominate the small screen through her engagement, her fashion choices and most of all her royal wedding," said Paul JJ Payack, president of Global Language Monitor.

  Middleton's April wedding to Britain's Prince William was watched by millions of people around the world and generated massive media attention.

  But Sheen wasn't far behind. The comedy star embarked on a series of bizarre interviews, videos and even a nationwide tour after being fired in March from what was the highest-paid acting job on U.S. television.

  "Winning" was one of his favorite phrases, followed closely by "tiger blood" and bragging about his various "goddesses," or live-in girlfriends.

  A more subdued Sheen admitted last week he was out of control and making jokes that he never believed in. In an appearance at the Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, an apparently sincere Sheen wished his revamped TV show well.

  Rounding out the 2011 top TV words were "Oprah", whose talk show ended after 25 years; "Fukushima", the epicenter of the Japanese quake, tsunami and nuclear power catastrophe; "9/11", "Obama-vision", "Chicago-style politics" and "Zombies".

  The Texas-based Global Language Monitor uses a math formula to track the frequency of words and phrases in print, electronic and social media.

  Last year's top Teleword was "Spillcam" after the live feed of the ruptured deep sea oil well in the Gulf of Mexico.

   

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