“Vaccine”, “vax”, “vaccine” … in English and Spanish, in its long or abbreviated form, is the term most chosen as word of the year by the various institutions that grant this recognition in different languages in 2021.
A year in which, although the majority of those elected turned around the pandemic again, there was also room for digital art (“NTF”), youth language (“cringe”) or solidarity (“allyship”) .
Three of the main institutions that grant this distinction in English and Spanish have coincided this year in highlighting “vaccine”.
This is the case of the FundéuRAE, promoted by the EFE Agency and the Royal Spanish Academy and which has chosen its word of the year since 2013. “In addition to its great presence in the social, political, scientific and economic debate, the Foundation has selected for its linguistic interest ”.
“This voice and its derivatives, such as ‘vaccination’ or ‘vaccinated’, have been present throughout the Spanish-speaking world this year, either in isolation or as part of larger constructions. It is a word that has even motivated the appearance of neologisms, new concepts such as ‘vacunadrome’ ”, adds FundéuRAE.
“Vax”, the choice of Oxford
In the English-speaking world, the choice that usually has the most impact is that of Oxford University Press, the British publisher that publishes the dictionary of the same name and which has opted for “vax”, the abbreviated form of “vaccine” (‘vaccine’).
According to their data, that word is used now 72 times more than a year ago and is giving rise to a whole family of related voices, from “vax sites” (‘vacunadromes’) to “being fully vaxxed” (‘ to be completely vaccinated ‘). “No word captures the atmosphere of last year better than ‘vaccine,'” notes the editorial.
The same is the opinion of the prestigious American dictionary Merriam Webster, for which “vaccine” has been much more than a medical term in 2021.
“For many, the word symbolized a possible return to the lives we led before the pandemic. But it was also at the center of debates about personal choice, political affiliation, professional regulations, school safety, inequality in health care, and much more. “
“Wellenbrecher”, the German breakwater against the pandemic
The institution that has the honor of having started the tradition in the 70s of the last century with its “Wort des Jahres” is the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache or Academy of the German language. His pick this year is “wellenbrecher”, that is, “breakwater”.
A term that in German has expanded its meaning to refer above all to the measures against the pandemic, but also to the period in which they must be applied and even to those who follow them faithfully to protect themselves and others (“Become a breakwater! ! ”).
Also around the pandemic revolves the word that they have coincided in choosing the two great references of Australian English: the Australian National Dictionary Center (ANDC) and the Macquarie dictionary. Both have decided to give that title to “strollout” (roughly “stroll”), a choice closely related to Australian irony.
And it is that this term has been used to refer to the slow implementation of the vaccination program in Australia. As the ANDC recalls, in the midst of the worldwide fury for vaccinating, political leaders in that country insisted that it was not “a race.”
Many Australians, who considered the vaccination rate too slow, began to use the word ‘strollout’ ironically, which became popular in the media and conversations.
NFT, a new model of digital art
One of the institutions that has avoided the influence of the pandemic when choosing its word of the year has been the prestigious British Collins dictionary, which has opted for “NFT”, the universally extended English acronym for “non fungible token ”(‘non-fungible token’).
A fashionable term in news and social networks and that they define as “a unique digital certificate, registered in a blockchain, which is used to register the ownership of an asset, such as a work of art or a collector’s item.”
The expansion of this way of disseminating art “has captured the imagination of the public” with news such as the sale of the rights to a work by the surrealist digital artist Beeple for US $ 69 million.
“Allyship”, a solidarity word
The word of the year for the online dictionary dictionary.com is “allyship” which could be translated as “alliance”, but which has acquired particular nuances related to social justice.
It is used to refer to the role played by people who advocate and actively work for the inclusion of marginalized groups, not as members of those groups but in solidarity with their struggle. In other words, a solidarity alliance with the most disadvantaged.
“Cringe” … what a shame!
The German publisher Langenscheidt, which publishes dictionaries and reference works, chooses a special word of the year: that of young people.
In a vote with more than 1.2 million votes, the one chosen in 2021 is “cringe” an Anglicism that, apparently, has spread a lot among young Germans and that has also become fashionable among Spanish-speakers in their chats, social networks and conversations.
They use it to express others’ shame, for example, in situations in which an adult tries to use youthful language to be modern. So now you know: if you don’t want to “cringe”, don’t use the word “cringe”.
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Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
