Pirmasens discussed: Is the youth word of the year really announced?

Pirmasens discussed: Is the youth word of the year really announced?

PIRMASENS. Since 2008, Langenscheidt-Verlag has been elected a “youth word of the year” annually, with one exception in 2019. The selection process has changed in recent years due to criticism of the relevance of words for young people. Many of the young people who participate in the vote often do not feel identified with the proposed terms, since they do not use them in everyday language use.

This year the vote for the youth word of the year until October 8th on the publisher's website is running. The victorious term will be announced on October 19. The survey of three youth representatives from Pirmasens should investigate the question of how representative the current suggestions of young people are and which terms are actually used in daily communication.

young people express themselves critically

Jan Weimann, the 22-year-old district chairman of the Junge Union Pirmasens and City Councilor of the CDU, let himself be carried away to his top three proposals "Yolo", "Digga" and "Talahon". He shows interest in the current list, but was surprised not to know many words. Terms such as "AKH", "scissors" and "Yurr" have so far remained unknown to him. The words "Digga" and "Talahon" are most common in his circle of friends. He is surprised that "Yolo", a term from 2012, is now among the favorites: "No one is now using it."

Weimann brings its own proposal: the word "Daubnern", dedicated to the Tagesschau spokeswoman Susanne Daubner, who has achieved a kind of cult status since 2021 through her videos on youth words.

Felix Doniat, the second deputy chairman of the Pirmasens youth council, had previously guessed the most common words and was correct with "Aura" and "Talahon". He even uses many of the current words himself, even if the term "scissors" remained unknown to him. According to a survey among his friends, they use "Aura" and "Talahon" the most.

Luis Wittmer, 20 years old and nature photographer and group leader of Bündnis 90/Die Grünen in the city council, has had similar experiences. He expresses a critical look at the importance of the choice itself and describes this as "self -fulfilling prophecy". In his perception, many words have only been aware of the choice without being used before. He also has no use for the words "scissors", "Akh" and "No Pascal, I don't think" in his circle of friends, but consider "aura" as his typical youth word.

In the list of the top ten words for this year, interesting suggestions are represented, such as "Digga" as a salutation for a friend, and also "Yolo" as an abbreviation for "You only live once". The term “Talahon” has controversy because it is also used in a negative manner on social media, especially as a racist labeling for young Arabs. The youngsters seem to be clear in their assessment which terms actually play a role in their everyday life.

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The top ten:

1. "scissors": admission of guilt among computer players
2. "DIGGA (H)": Salutation for a friend or acquaintance
3. "Yolo": Abbreviation for "You only live oncas"; Reason for risky decisions
4. "Hell No": English "Hell No"; a strong rejection
5. "Yurr": Greeting and introduction of a question
6. "Pyrotechnik": Derivation from the song of the same name, known by social media
7. "aura": personal charisma, effect on others
8. "Akh": Arabic for "brother", salutation among friends
9. "Talahon": From the Arabic, it is used for people with stereotyped appearance or behavior. The term is now also abused as a racist expression for young Arabs, especially on social media.
10. "No Pascal, I don't think": Expression of rejection

The top three (announced on September 10th; vote runs until October 8):

1. "Talahon"
2. "aura"
3. "scissors"