Is "Nerdic" Really the Fastest Growing Language?

According to Pixmania.com's research, the speedy growth of consumer electronics and associated buzzwords and acronyms has created the "fastest growing language" in Europe. The study says it's more widely spoken than any single European language and is used by all ages. More words get added to it each year than are added to the Oxford English Dictionary. Hmmmm. What exactly is this "nerdic"? Read on for what the study suggests are the top ten words/phrases... and why we think it's all rubbish.

Pixmania's top ten: WiMax, Rickroll, UGC, mashup, RFID, Android, HDMI, fuel-cell, HSDPA and DVB-H.

There's also a "bottom ten" list too, which includes dial-up, KB and, of course, HD DVD.

And what's this about it being a language? Of course global adoption of a technology adds certain phrases to all languages— I mean, just a small bunch of decades ago few people would've understood the words "cellphone" or "hard drive" or "SCART." But does that really make it a language? No, it's not even a dialect. Does it even help non-nerds understand the tech they're buying, no matter what country they're buying it in? Remember the consumer frenzy that stirred up around digital cameras and the megapixel race? And the multitude of terms about HD TV: all that 1080i, 720p (really 768p) nonsense?

Original here