To mark their 70th anniversary, the British council polled over 40,000 English language learners as to their favourite English words. According to some interesting results, the top five words in the English language are apparently:
- Mother
- Passion
- Smile
- Love
- Eternity
All very nice and civil, but it gets a little unusual further down the list. It was a close call for peekaboo and kangaroo, coming in at number 48 and 50 respectively, and I for one am still undecided as to my favourite of the two. However, I agree that hiccup (#63) is much better than hen night (#70). Other quirky inclusions are loquacious, zing, flip-flop, serendipity and flabbergasted. Now we all know the words that any London English school worthy of its title will be teaching in the next few lessons!
Some words were chosen as admirable or impressive concepts, whilst others purely for the sound of the word. Positive connotations were favoured to their negative counterparts, and words associated with freedom and fun topped the list.
Yet my personal favourite isn't really a word, and not one that you'd expect to come up often in an English course London. Number 61: Oi. That's right. Oi. A nonsense sound that says so much for a native English speaker - and obviously a favourite of language learners as well!
The British Council is the key body for the promotion of the English language around the world, running numerous international and London English courses. Teaching a staggering 500,000 plus people per year and also responsible for accrediting the most reputable selection of English school London, it's great to see that the British Council can also take time out for fun - all in the name of a language learning survey!
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