The German ‘Youth Word of the Year’ has been announced

Groovy.  

Fab.  

Boss.  

Swell.  

Awesome.  

Lit. 

There’s a new word quantifying coolness on the block, and it’s been selected by Germany’s youth as their trendy word of the year: “Aura”.

German dictionary publisher Langenscheidt made the announcement, and while the word continues to refer to the Oxford Dictionary’s definition as “a distinctive ambience or quality generated by a person or thing,” Gen Z & Alpha have imbued the term with an extra layer to describe a person who has done something good. The cool that derives from a good deed can then be expressed as “aura points.”

Aura’s elevation to buzzword seems to have stemmed from the advertising slogan for a credit card company. According to Langenscheidt, the term was subsequently picked up by the New York Times in an article about Dutch football champion Virgil van Dijk: “Solutions Are Expensive. An Aura Is Priceless.”

A controversial runner-up

Missing the top spot this year was the Arabic-derived word “Talahon”, which directly translates as “come here”.

It is used by German youngsters to describe men “who wear fake luxury clothes” for street and TikTok cred, according to Zeit Online.

It’s essentially the British equivalent to the word “chav”, and has also proven to be as controversial.

Indeed, the word “Talahon” is frequently used as a derogatory and racist term to mock people based on their appearance and stigmatize migrants.

Recently, factionless MP Matthias Helferich, who the AfD banned from holding any political office, made a speech in the Bundestag while dressed in clothes associated with “Talahons”. He stated that Germans with migrant backgrounds should be deported.

The term was almost vetoed, but Langenscheidt insisted in a statement that the way the young voters were using it was in a humorous and often self-deprecating manner.

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The Youth Word of the Year competition has been going on since 2008 and was only handed over to German youngsters four years ago. Prior to that, anybody could vote. In 2020, the vote was handed over exclusively to those aged between 11 and 20, ensuring that the year’s chosen word genuinely reflects youthful language culture.

This year, a reported 100,000 votes were counted – a record for the competition – and “aura” follows a lot of English terms as ‘Youth Word of the Year’, including “Goofy” (2023 – an affectionate term to describe someone eccentric or awkward); “Smash” (2022 – meaning picking someone up or having sex with someone, stemming from the dating game “Smash or Pass”); “Cringe” (2021 – a descriptive to refer to something or someone as embarrassing); and “Lost” (2020 – the expression of a lack of direction or perspective).

So, don’t get too lost, and embrace your goofy side while minding your aura. And for the love of all that’s good and pure, stop referring to sex as smash. It won’t do anything for your sex life. It’ll just be cringe.

Additional sources • Langenscheidt, Zeit Online