{"id":13619,"date":"2021-12-30T13:33:15","date_gmt":"2021-12-30T13:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=13619"},"modified":"2021-12-14T13:39:46","modified_gmt":"2021-12-14T13:39:46","slug":"german-word-of-the-year-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/german-word-of-the-year-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"German Word Of The Year 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guten Tag! Today we will look at the\u00a0Wort des Jahres\u00a0in Germany. Each year, the\u00a0Gesellschaft f\u00fcr deutsche Sprache (GfdS)<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 The German Language Association \u2013 picks a word as their\u00a0Wort des Jahres\u00a0\u2013 \u2018Word of the Year\u2019.<\/strong> This is often a word related to a prominent topic in the country during the year, and is usually interesting from a linguistic perspective, too. The Word of the Year has nothing to do with how often the word has been used, but is more about the word\u2019s significance. What\u2019s great about learning the German Wort des Jahres<\/em> is that it gives us an insight into Germany\u2019s current events, politics and culture, whilst teaching us some quirks of the language, too. So without further ado, let\u2019s take a look at the Wort des Jahres 2021!<\/p>\n

The German Word of the Year 2021 is: Wellenbrecher!<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"word

Photo by Matt Paul Catalano<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Word of the Year 2021: Wellenbrecher<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This word literally means \u2018wave breaker\u2019<\/strong> (die Welle:<\/em> wave \/ brechen<\/em>: to break). Originally relating to coastal protection (der K\u00fcstenschutz<\/em>) and ship construction (der Schiffbau<\/em>), in 2021 the word Wellenbrecher<\/em> took on a new meaning in Germany: it was used to refer to all the measures the country is taking to prevent the fourth Coronavirus wave. A person can also be called a Wellenbrecher<\/em> for taking precautions themselves!<\/p>\n

Now here are the runners-up for the 2021 Wort des Jahres, with a brief description of each:<\/strong><\/p>\n

SolidAHRit\u00e4t<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"word

Photo by Kelly Sikkema<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

In Platz zwei<\/strong> (second place) is SolidAHRit\u00e4t.<\/strong> This word is a reference to the Ahrtal<\/em> (Ahr valley) flood in Juli<\/em> (July). It is a mix of the words der Ahr<\/em> (the Ahr river) and die Solidarit\u00e4t<\/em> (solidarity). During this flood (die Flut<\/em>), communities across the country pulled together to raise money and repair the damage caused.<\/p>\n

Pflexit<\/h3>\n
\"word

Photo by Luis Melendez<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

In Platz drei<\/strong> (third place) is Pflexit.<\/strong> This is a play on the word Brexit<\/em>, but in Germany it relates to nurses leaving the care profession due to bad working conditions and pay. The \u2018Pfl\u2019 in Pflexit stands for Pflege; die Pflege<\/em> is the German word for \u2018care\u2019 or \u2018nursing\u2019.<\/p>\n

Impfpflicht<\/h3>\n
\"word

Photo by Mufid Majnun<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

In Platz vier<\/strong> (fourth place) is Impfpflicht,<\/strong> which is the term for ‘vaccine mandate’. Impfen<\/em> is the verb for \u2018to vaccinate\u2019, while die Pflicht<\/em> means \u2018duty\u2019 or \u2018obligation\u2019. The Impfpflicht<\/em> has been a hot topic in Germany this year; whilst the possibility of this was always dismissed, attitudes have changed in recent months as the country battles to keep Coronavirus cases down and prevent a fourth wave of the virus.<\/p>\n

Ampelparteien<\/h3>\n
\"word

Photo by Tsvetoslav Hristov<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

In Platz f\u00fcnf<\/strong> (fifth place) is Ampelparteien,<\/strong> which means \u2018traffic light parties\u2019. In September 2021 there was a Bundestagwahl<\/em> (federal election), which the Social Democratic Party (SPD) won. They went on to create a coalition with two other parties and called themselves the Ampelparteien<\/em> (\u2018traffic light parties\u2019) because their party colours are red, yellow and green respectively.<\/p>\n

Lockdown-Kinder<\/h3>\n
\"word

Photo by Thomas Park<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

In Platz sechs<\/strong> (sixth place) is Lockdown-Kinder,<\/strong> which means \u2018lockdown children\u2019. This refers to the problems children have faced during the pandemic (die Pandemie<\/em>), including problems with schooling (die Schulung<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Booster<\/h3>\n
\"word

Photo by Parang Mehta<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

In Platz sieben<\/strong> (seventh place) is Booster,<\/strong> referring to the booster jab (third dose of Coronavirus vaccination) which was rolled out in 2021. The official German word for \u2018Booster\u2019 is die Auffrischungsimpfung<\/em>, which translates to \u2018refresher vaccination\u2019.<\/p>\n

Freitesten<\/h3>\n
\"word

Photo by Roman Wimmers<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

In Platz acht<\/strong> (eighth place) is freitesten<\/strong>, which literally means \u2018to free test\u2019. This is a new verb for the German language, which refers to the act of testing oneself for Coronavirus (something everyone in Germany currently has to do if they are not geimpft<\/strong>– vaccinated, or genesen<\/strong>– recently recovered from the virus). This word is a great example of how language evolves in relation to national events!<\/p>\n

Triell<\/h3>\n
\"word

Photo by Richard Lee<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

In Platz neun<\/strong> (ninth place) is Triell.<\/strong> This stands for \u2018Duell zu dritt\u2019<\/em> \u2013 \u2018A duel of three\u2019. It’s a very old term, but it was used frequently in 2021 during the Bundestagwahlkampf<\/em> (election battle), as there were three main contenders battling it out to win.<\/p>\n

f\u00fcnf nach zw\u00f6lf<\/h3>\n
\"word

Photo by Andrea Natali<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

In Platz zehn<\/strong> (tenth place) is f\u00fcnf nach zw\u00f6lf,<\/strong> which means \u2018five past twelve (o\u2019clock)\u2019. This term is used when it\u2019s already too late to act, and action should have been taken sooner. It was relevant to several critical topics in 2021, including the pandemic and the climate crisis (die Klimakrise<\/em>).<\/p>\n

If you like this post, check out last year’s Wort des Jahres here<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr!<\/strong><\/em>
\nHappy New Year! \ud83d\ude42<\/em>
\nConstanze<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"wellenbrecher\"

Guten Tag! Today we will look at the\u00a0Wort des Jahres\u00a0in Germany. Each year, the\u00a0Gesellschaft f\u00fcr deutsche Sprache (GfdS)\u00a0\u2013 The German Language Association \u2013 picks a word as their\u00a0Wort des Jahres\u00a0\u2013 \u2018Word of the Year\u2019. This is often a word related to a prominent topic in the country during the year, and is usually interesting from…<\/p>\n

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