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Word of the year

Every year, countries throughout Europe participate in the tradition of selecting a "word of the year." Here are the words from the previous year!

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Word of the year

Every year, countries throughout Europe participate in the tradition of selecting a "word of the year." This practice involves choosing a single word or phrase that reflects the social, cultural, or political trends and events of the year. The word of the year serves as a symbolic representation of the collective consciousness and prevailing themes within a society. It captures the zeitgeist and becomes a reflection of the shared experiences, concerns, and aspirations of the people.

 

Words of the year 2023

Luxembourg 2023

KI / Kënschtlech Intelligenz

AI / Artificial Intelligence

That's what the experts in Luxembourg have decided to elect as word of the year, a phenomenon that has already left its mark on our everyday lives and that is set to revolutionise many areas in the future, whether we like it or not.

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Italy 2023

Femminicidio

Femicide

Unfortunately, in 2023 the word has become more relevant, to the point of taking the form of a sort of alarm bell that signals, on a linguistic level, the intensity of gender discrimination. The term, perfectly congruent with the mechanisms that regulate word formation in Italian, made its appearance in our language in 2001; since then, it has spread like wildfire as the crime that is its referent.

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Belgium 2023

Bombe climatique

Climate bomb

The term "climate bomb" (or "carbon bomb") refers to a mega fossil fuel extraction project, either operational or under construction. The choice of this word reveals the sensitivity of a significant proportion of Internet users to phenomena linked to climate issues.

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United Kingdom 2023

Rizz

--

2023 marked the era of personal – and professional – PR. And what does it take to command attention? A whole lot of charisma, or the shortened form, ‘rizz’. Pertaining to someone’s ability to attract another person through style, charm, or attractiveness, this term is from the middle part of the word ‘charisma’, which is an unusual word formation pattern. Other examples include ‘fridge’ (refrigerator) and ‘flu’ (influenza).

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United Kingdom 2023

AI

--

‘AI’,a term that describes ‘the modelling of human mental functions by computer programs’ has been named Collins Word of the Year 2023. Considered to be the next great technological revolution, AI has seen rapid development and has been much talked about in 2023.

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Spain 2023

Polarización

Polarisation

In recent years, this word has been widely used to refer to situations in which there are two very defined and distanced opinions or activities, sometimes with the implicit ideas of tension and confrontation. Applied to politics and ideology, to the world of sport, to debate on digital platforms and, in general, to any scenario in which disagreement is commonplace, the word polarisation has spread throughout 2023.

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Switzerland 2023

Décombres

Rubble

A world falling apart on several levels - the term refers as much to the earthquakes that have left millions of people in Syria and Turkey, as well as the wreckage of war suffered by civilian victims around the world. It also highlights the reshaping of a global geopolitical order in competition with the global south. But to decompose is etymologically, the action of clearing away clutter: the term invites us to think about the world and prepare for the future.

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Switzerland 2023

Monsterbank

--

The troubled Credit Suisse has shaken Switzerland's self-image as a safe haven for client money. After emergency meetings with the Federal Department of Finance, the Swiss National Bank and the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, CS and UBS concluded a merger agreement. The result was a monstrously large bank by Swiss standards.

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Portugal 2023

Professor

Teacher

Teachers continue to demand that their profession be valued in hundreds of protests across the country.

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Austria 2023

Kanzlermenü

Chancellor's menu

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said at a meeting with party colleagues that the cheapest hot meal in Austria was a hamburger at MacDonald's and that everyone could afford it. He meant this as a recommendation for poor families to give their children a hamburger from McDonald’s as a standard meal because it was so cheap, which caused a great stir and incomprehension in the media.

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Germany 2023

Krisenmodus

Crisis mode

We are surrounded by crises. Crises that have not yet been overcome, such as climate change, the Russia-Ukraine war or the energy crisis, are being overtaken by new crises. The Middle East war, inflation and the debt crisis have now been added to the mix and the education crisis has also come to a head.

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United Kingdom 2022

Goblin mode

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Goblin mode' is a slang term describing unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, or greedy behaviour that rejects social norms. It gained popularity on Twitter in 2009 and went viral on social media in February 2022, appearing in newspapers and magazines. As Covid lockdown restrictions eased, it resonated with those who rejected the idea of returning to 'normal life' and rebelled against unrealistic social media standards.

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United Kingdom 2022

Permacrisis

---

A Chinese proverb suggests the butterfly's flap can cause a distant hurricane. The war in Ukraine can be thought of as such since it profoundly impacts various sectors, leading to shortages in necessities essential goods: reduced gas exports from Russia, Ukrainian grain exports hindered by the Russian blockade, and extreme summer droughts causing energy concerns. The Swiss Federal Council even approved the Crisis Staff State in case of a gas or electricity shortage in Switzerland. This situation calls for increased awareness of the Earth’s finite resources and the need for an environment-nature relationship change.

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Norway 2022

Krympflasjon

- - -

The word "krympflasjon" is used when the content or size of a product becomes smaller while the price remains the same or increases. "Krympflasjon" captures the occurrence of camouflaging the increase in price so that it appears smaller than it actually is. "The phenomenon is old, but the word is new. It is a so-called telescopic word that is made up of parts of other words." says Dagfinn Rødningen, senior advisor at the Language Council of Norway.

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France 2022

Guerre

War

War is always with us, has always been with us, and is with us everywhere. But the fact that it now takes place in Europe, for the French, has become something very, very concrete", observes Médéric Gasquet-Cyrus, a linguist at the University of Aix-Marseille. He is referring to, of course, the war in Ukraine, triggered by the Russian Federation’s aggression of February 24, 2022.

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Spain 2022

Inteligencia artificial

artificial intelligence

This is not a new concept, but it has resonated with particular strength in 2022 due to the multitude of applications of this technology: from creating illustrations, writing novels, and engaging in conversations to programming code at the same level as a human. However, this year has also sparked a broad debate about the ethical implications and the changes it may bring for certain professionals.

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Switzerland 2022

Boycotter

boycott

In 2022, calls for boycotts multiplied in various fields. In sports, we witnessed boycotts of the Beijing Olympics and - at this very moment - the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. In politics, we heard people calling for boycotts of elections, deliberately using this term to replace that of abstention, which evokes resignation. Countries, projects, and of course, all kinds of products like meat, could also be boycotted.

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Switzerland 2022

Strommangellage

"electricity shortage situation" or "power supply shortage"

Electricity, which seemed to always be available, could suddenly become scarce. The situation is uncertain. Switzerland is interconnected and involved in the European electricity market, but import quantities are currently not guaranteed. The war in Ukraine, the hesitant use of solar energy, and climate change further exacerbate the situation.

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Portugal 2022

Guerra

War

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia initiated the largest military conflict in Europe since World War II.

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Austria 2022

Inflation

Inflation

The price increases of 10% are a new and unfamiliar phenomenon caused by high energy prices and the Ukraine war. Inflation and rising costs are therefore a topic of daily conversation.

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Germany 2022

Zeitenwende

"turning point" or "epochal shift"

"Zeitenwende" is related to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and was taken up by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, among others. "The Russian invasion of Ukraine marks a turning point. It threatens our entire post-war order", he said end of February 2022.

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