A term describing the collapse of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-party coalition has been voted Germany's word of the year for 2024, reported dpa.
"Ampel-Aus" – literally translating as "traffic light out" – refers to the break-up of the coalition between Scholz's Social Democrats, whose traditional colour is red, the Greens and the yellow-coded Free Democrats.
The decision was made by the Association for the German Language (GfdS), based in the western city of Wiesbaden.
In second place was "Klimaschönfärberei," or greenwashing, ahead of "kriegstüchtig," a term used by Defence Minister Boris Pistorius which roughly translatable as "war-ready."
The jury – consisting of association members, linguists and media experts – made the selection from a list of 10 finalists, chosen among almost 2,500 submissions.
"The decisive factor for the selection of the word of the year is not the frequency of an expression, but rather its significance and popularity," explained the GfdS.
The selected words and phrases are not associated with any judgement or recommendation.
The word of the year 2023 was "Krisenmodus," or crisis mode.
The GfdS first chose a word of the year in 1971.
- Germany
- Word of the year
- Coalition govt
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
