{"id":12559,"date":"2021-01-27T23:00:56","date_gmt":"2021-01-27T23:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=12559"},"modified":"2021-01-27T13:29:09","modified_gmt":"2021-01-27T13:29:09","slug":"more-german-non-words-of-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/more-german-non-words-of-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"More German ‘Non-Words’ of 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guten Tag! Today\u2019s post is a follow-up to the Unwort des Jahres 2020<\/em> \u2013 the German \u2018non-word\u2019 of the year 2020. To fall into the category of an \u2018Unwort\u2019, the word must do one or more of the following: violate the principles of human dignity; violate the principles of democracy; discriminate against social groups; or be euphemistic or misleading in some way. We know from that post that the winners of the title last year were Corona-Diktatur<\/em> and R\u00fcckf\u00fchrungspatenschaften.<\/em><\/a> But hundreds of words were suggested by the public before the winners were chosen by a jury. This post will list some more German ‘non-words’ of 2020, all of which were in the running for the title!<\/p>\n

Some of the themes that dominated this list in 2020 were the coronavirus pandemic, migration, and environmental issues. Reading about these Unw\u00f6rter<\/em> is not just a great way of seeing the creativity of the German language, but gives you an idea of the kinds of topics that were prevalent in Germany during that year, and how people responded to them.<\/p>\n

More German ‘Non-Words’ of 2020<\/h3>\n
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Berlin, Germany. Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash.<\/p><\/div>\n

Topic: die Pandemie (pandemic)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Systemling<\/strong> \u2013 This word comes from das System<\/em> (the system), and refers to a person who happily follows and\/or benefits from the governing system. It\u2019s similar to the word der Gutmensch<\/em> \u2013 the \u2018do-gooder\u2019.<\/p>\n

Wirrologen<\/strong> \u2013 This is a play on the words verwirren<\/em> (to confuse) and der Virologe<\/em> (virologist), a name given to non-experts suddenly giving out advice, and\/or a reference to the sometimes confusing advice given out during the pandemic.<\/p>\n

Grippchen<\/strong> \u2013 This word is a diminutive of the word die Grippe<\/em> (flu\/cold). A word becomes a diminutive when the suffix -chen<\/em> (or, sometimes, -lein<\/em>) is added. It is used to describe something smaller, younger, or ‘cuter’ than its original. The word das Grippchen,<\/em> used in relation to the pandemic, suggests coronavirus is a \u2018small cold\u2019. Learn more about diminutives in German by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

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Heidelberg, Germany. Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash.<\/p><\/div>\n

Topic: die Migration (migration)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Abschiebepatenschaft<\/strong> \u2013 This has a similar meaning to the winner of the Unwort 2020 title, R\u00fcckf\u00fchrungspatenschaften<\/em>. While die R\u00fcckf\u00fchrung<\/em> means \u2018return\u2019, die Abschiebung<\/em> means \u2018deportation\u2019, making Abschiebepatenschaft<\/em> translate to \u2018deportation sponsorship\u2019. These terms were criticised in 2020 for being in bad taste, with many deeming them ‘zynisch und besch\u00f6nigend’<\/em> (cynical and euphemistic).<\/p>\n

Ankerkinder<\/strong> \u2013 Literally \u2018anchor children\u2019 or \u2018anchor babies\u2019, this word refers to asylum seekers who travel to a country to give birth there, \u2018anchoring\u2019 themselves to that country via their baby. The word is made up of der Anker<\/em> (anchor) and die Kinder<\/em> (children\/babies).<\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

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Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany. Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash.<\/p><\/div>\n

Topic: die Umweltschutz (environmental protection)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00d6ko-Nazi<\/strong> \u2013 Literally \u2018eco-nazi\u2019, this word mocks environmentalists by likening them to nazis. The word \u00d6ko-<\/em> is a prefix equivalent to \u2018eco\u2019 (for example: \u00d6kologie<\/em>– ecology; \u00f6kologisch<\/em>– ecological).<\/p>\n

Verschmutzungsrechte<\/strong> \u2013 Literally \u2018pollution rights\u2019, these are rights companies can buy to use resources that contribute to pollution. They are often bought if they are more cost-effective for the company than the eco-friendly versions. The word is made up of the words die Verschmutzung<\/em> (pollution) and die Rechte<\/em> (rights).<\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

Related posts you might like:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unwort des Jahres 2020<\/a><\/p>\n

Unwort des Jahres 2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Wort des Jahres 2020<\/a><\/p>\n

Jugendwort des Jahres 2020<\/a><\/p>\n

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Hamburg, Germany. Photo by Patrick Mueller on Unsplash.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Guten Tag! Today\u2019s post is a follow-up to the Unwort des Jahres 2020 \u2013 the German \u2018non-word\u2019 of the year 2020. To fall into the category of an \u2018Unwort\u2019, the word must do one or more of the following: violate the principles of human dignity; violate the principles of democracy; discriminate against social groups; or…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":12570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[529261,376028,95131,376023,551762,11197,238365,457073,358620,375962],"class_list":["post-12559","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-language","tag-coronavirus","tag-current-events","tag-german-language","tag-language","tag-politics","tag-politik","tag-unwort","tag-unwort-des-jahres","tag-word-of-the-year","tag-wort-des-jahres"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t