Subprime美國07年度詞滙

Used to describe a risky loan,"subprime" has been chosen as the Word of the Year 2007 by American Dialect Society at its annual convention recently.

　　About 80 members of the organization spent two days debating the merits of runners-up"Facebook"，"green"，"Google ganger"and"water boarding"before voting for an adjective that means"a risky or less than ideal loan，mortgage or investment".

　　The choice signifies the public's concern for a"deepening mortgage crisis",the society said in a statement.

　　"Facebook",as a noun,verb or adjective,was popular with younger linguists,said Wayne Glowka,a spokesman for the group.

　　Several people lobbied for"green",which"designates environmental concern",but the term has been around for years,he said.The word topped the 2007"Most Useful"category,one of numerous subgroups the society choses.

　　The group also decided that although"waterboarding",an interrogation technique that simulates drowning,gained a lot of attention during recent attorney general confirmation hearings,it was a bigger deal in 2004,Glowka said.

　　But what's a"Googleganger"？

　　A play on"doppelganger",the word is"a person with your name who shows up when you Google yourself",according to the society. It was named as the"Most Creative"word.

　　In 2006,the organization chose"plutoed",which means"to be demoted or devalued".