Latest news "Ampel-Aus" is the "word of the year" in Germany
"Ampel-Aus" has been named "Word of the Year" 2024 in Germany. This was announced by the Society for the German Language (GfdS) in Wiesbaden in light of the spectacular collapse of the coalition between the SPD, Greens and FDP.
06.12.2024, 10:27
SDA
In second place was "climate whitewashing", i.e. the efforts of companies, for example, to gloss over their climate protection measures. In third place was "war-ready", a term that German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius used to great effect when pushing for more speed in the modernization of the Bundeswehr.
A jury determined a ranking with a total of ten words of the year that have dominated and shaped the public debate in recent months. According to the GfdS, this time the experts selected the terms from almost 2,500 entries. The suggestions came from the media, and anyone could also submit terms.
"The decisive factor for the selection of the "Words of the Year" is not the frequency of an expression, but rather its significance and popularity," explained the GfdS. The selected words and phrases are not associated with any evaluation or recommendation.
"Crisis mode" was "Word of the Year" in 2023
The jury of around ten was made up of linguists, media experts and the main board of the society. In 2023, "crisis mode" came in first place. "Antisemitism" and "leseunfähig" followed in the next two places on the list of ten words.
The GfdS is a politically independent association for the cultivation and research of the German language based in Wiesbaden (Hesse). It first chose the "Word of the Year" in 1971 and has done so regularly since 1977.
