Newsmambo

The Top Ten Global YouthSpeak Words for 2006 with commentary follow.

1. Yoof Speak – Pan-Asian term for YouthSpeak.

2. Ballin’ – Doing well; fine; as in he’s really ballin’ now.

3. Stick Ice – Chinese YouthSpeak for ‘popsicle’ or ice cream cone.

4. ii – Siigniifiies the text messaging style of doubliing the letter ii wherever iit iis found. (Very gee or preppy).

5. Ya-ya papaya – Snooty person (Singlish from Singapore).

6. 1 – From the U2 song One Love. Sign-off to Instant Messages.

7. =^..^= The emoticon representing a kitty.

8. Get up One’s Nose – Irritates, as in ‘He gets up my nose!’ (UK).

9. LMAO – Texting abbreviation for Laughed My Ass Off.

10. Yobbo – An unrefined or loutish youth (Aussie/UK).

The Top Global YouthSpeak Words for 2005 were: 1. Crunk -- A Southern variation of hip hop music; also meaning fun or amped. 2. Mang -- Variation of man, as in "S'up, mang?" 3. A'ight -- All Right, "That girl is nice, she's a'ight".

The Most Frequently Spoken Word on the Planet: O.K.

Popularized by US President (1837 -1841) Martin Van Buren's nickname, Old Kinderhook from his birthplace in New York State. His re-election slogan was 'Martin Van Buren is O.K'. Didn't you ever wonder why a simple word can be spelled in capital letters followed by periods? Though the undoubtedly word appeared in earlier variations, this is the event that solidified its position in the language.