Google: The Parlance of Our Times

Gary Price reports (via Search Engine Land) that “Google” has ranked second in Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year survey. The ranking pertains to the use of Google as a verb (i.e., to “Google” someone or something). Stephen Colbert’s “truthiness” took the top spot.

This shows yet again how Google is not only an online powerhouse but also a cultural phenomenon whose name has gone beyond tech buzzwordage to seep into our everyday language. Here is an interesting New York Times archived column (reg. req.) from famed linguist and author Geoffrey Nunberg on this subject.