2023-12-06 16:11:52
It’s hard to grasp, it’s difficult to train, you just have it, or you don’t: the “Rizz”. Never heard? Older than “Gen Z”? Not enough on Tiktok? Your own children haven’t explained it to you yet? Don’t worry, because like every year around Christmas, the lists of words, youth words and “Words of the Year” once again offer a lot of enlightenment for those who are linguistically left behind, when graying linguists and publishing bosses explain the slang of young people (warning: “cringe” ).
The renowned British publisher Oxford University Press has just named “Rizz” as the word of the year. The word is defined as style, charm, attractiveness, or the ability to attract other people romantically or sexually. Anyone who has “rizz” is self-confident, well received and can easily wrap others around their finger. Etymologically, according to linguists, it can be assumed that the noun is a very shortened form of the word charisma.
Enforced against “Swiftie”, “Prompt” and “Situationship”.
A well-known YouTube and Twitch streamer is said to have brought the term into circulation. After actor Tom Holland (“I Have Limited Rizz”) was asked about it in an interview, the word exploded through social media echo chambers. It has now become established in German usage, at least since rap poet and chart-topper Ski Aggu wrote the following verses: “Shu? Baby, I have maximum rizz // I’m not your fitness trainer, but I’ll still get you fit.” As a result, “rizz” was also in the running for a long time in the election for the German youth word of the year.
In the final round of the Oxford publishing house, “Rizz” beat “Swiftie” (the proper name of Taylor Swift fans), “Prompt” (instructions for an artificial intelligence) and “Situationship” (a romantic or sexual relationship that is not considered formal or established). The four finalists were voted on publicly, and the publisher’s language experts chose the winner themselves. According to Oxford, the word of the year should reflect “the ethos, mood or concerns” of the previous year.
Benjamin Fischer and Anna Sophie Kühne, Anton Vester (photos) Published/Updated: , Jannis Holl Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 12 Fridtjof Küchemann Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 2
The experts also provide the sociological analysis. Last year, “Goblin mode” won the race – a term that alludes to the socially withdrawn lifestyle during the pandemic. The choice of “Rizz”, on the other hand, perhaps expresses the prevailing mood of this year, in which people opened up more and found trust in themselves. If that is the case, the crisis-plagued year of youth does not seem to have spoiled the mood. After more than two years of “Goblin mode” she was granted this.
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