2024-01-15 16:31:00
German linguists have chosen the anti-word of the year (Unwort des Jahres) – in 2023 it was the concept of “Remigration”. This word is often used by right-wing populists and the far right to disguise their demands for the forced expulsion and deportation of migrants, the jury of linguists in Marburg explained their choice on Monday, January 15.
“The New Right wants to ideologically appropriate and redefine an initially neutral term that has its origins in the social sciences. They use this concept to achieve cultural hegemony and ethnic homogeneity. What they demand with this word violates the fundamental civil rights of people with migrant roots.” , said jury representative Constanze Spieß.
Recently, the anti-word 2023 has been constantly appearing in political debates: the “reintegration” plan was discussed at a secret meeting of representatives of the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) with right-wing extremists, after which there was talk in the country about the possibility of banning the right-wing populist party. The discussion at the meeting was about the deportation of not only foreigners – refugees and asylum seekers, but also German citizens with migration roots.
“Social gadgets” and “heating Stasi”
Second and third places in the ranking of antiwords – 2023 were taken by “Sozialklimbim”, which can be roughly translated as “social gadgets” and “Heating Stasi” (Heizungs-Stasi). The first concept arose in connection with the political debate about social and child benefits: with its help, these allowances are trying to be presented as something meaningless and useless.
The term “heating Stasi” is used by populists and climate change activists to describe those who support energy conservation. The term echoes the 2022 anti-word Klimaterroristen (“climate terrorists”), which discredits people who are committed to climate protection measures and call for compliance with the relevant Paris Agreement.
The phrase “Climate terrorists” discredits people organizing non-violent climate protests and has become an “anti-word” in 2022. Photo: Sebastian Gollnow/dpa/picture alliance
Antiwords of previous years
The antiword has been chosen in Germany since 1991. In 2023, the jury received 2,300 entries with 710 different expressions. The anti-word of 2021 was the anglicism Pushback, which is associated with the inhumane process of pushing back, expelling refugees and migrants at the borders of the European Union without considering their asylum applications.
The purpose of choosing an antiword is to draw public attention to derogatory or derogatory use of language. For example, we can talk about dehumanizing terms, as well as expressions that discriminate against social groups. The jury consists of four linguists, a journalist and an annually changing politician – this year it was Ruprecht Polenz, a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
At the beginning of December, the German Language Society announced the word of the year. It became “Krisenmodus”, which is translated into Russian as the phrase “crisis regime”. Linguists of the Society for the German Language explained the choice of this word by saying that “there have always been crises, but this year crises and their management seem to have reached their climax.” They recalled the words of the German Vice-Chancellor that we are “surrounded by crises.” “Climate change, the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, the war in the Middle East, the inflation and debt crisis, the education crisis… Feelings such as uncertainty, fear, anger, helplessness and powerlessness characterize the daily lives of many people. From a linguistic point of view this can be observed in the radicalization of language in public space,” the jury said in its rationale.
See also:
#antiword #Germany #remigration