Youth Word of the Year 2020: Winner and Selection in Check

After falling out in 2019, the election for the Youth Word of the Year 2020 took place again. Read about which word creations were up for selection and which term ended up taking the win.

Not only new words: in youth language, established terms are also reinterpreted.

In the fall, it was that time again: although the year was not yet over, Langenscheidt called for the election of the Youth Word of the Year 2020.

Youth Word of the Year 2020: The Winner and His Competition

Here is the overview of the 2020 election:

• "lost" was chosen as the Youth Word of the Year. The English word for "lost" describes the haphazard, uncertain or clueless behavior of a person.
• The two competing terms in the finals were "cringe" (Fremdschämen) and "wild" or "wyld", which describes a particularly remarkable action - whether positive or not.
• Other candidates were "Mashallah" (Arabic for "God willing"), "Digga" (buddy / friend), "Wednesday" (based on a Reddit meme) and "Schabernack" (in reference to CDU politician Philipp Amthor).

It is interesting that not only neologisms were up for election, but also actually quite normal terms. This means: in the youth language it is not only about the words themselves, but also about the context. In this way, new trends emerge quickly, as can be seen in streams on YouTube or Twitch, for example, and the young target group helps to spread them rapidly.