The American Dialect Society has named "they" as the word of the decade, recognizing the plural pronoun's growing use as a singular form to refer to people with a non-binary gender identity.
The winner was decided in a vote by the body's 350 members at an annual gathering on Friday.
"People want to choose something that stands the test of time and sums up the decade as a whole," said linguist and lexicographer Ben Zimmer.
The word of the year was "(my) pronouns" — a nod to the increasingly popular practice of specifying the perferred personal pronouns one would like to be called by, for example she/her.
The society said in a statement that the top picks showed "how the personal expression of gender identity has become an increasing part of our shared discourse."
Other words on the list for word of the decade included "meme," which came in second place, followed by "climate," "#BlackLivesMatter," "woke" and "MeToo."
"They" was also crowned word of the year by US dictionary Merriam-Webster in 2019.
The American Dialect Society was founded in 1889 and started selecting its word of the year in 1991. Since then, the only two previous decade winners have been "web" for the 1990s, and "Google" as a verb for the 2000s.
-
From 'Respektrente' to 'Abwrackprämie': Germany's words of the year 2009-2019
2019: 'Respektrente'
Planned changes in pension laws in Germany are set to disadvantage many workers at retirement; the bill was disparagingly dubbed "Respektrente." The term won over the expressions "Rollerchaos," referring to the chaos created by the sudden invasion of electric scooters in German cities, and "Fridays for Future," a term widely used in Germany for the worldwide school strike for climate movement.
-
From 'Respektrente' to 'Abwrackprämie': Germany's words of the year 2009-2019
2018: 'Heisszeit'
The term "Heisszeit," or warm age — as opposed to an "ice age," which sounds quite similar in German: "Eiszeit" — was chosen as the Word of the Year 2018, reflecting not only Germany's extreme summer that year, but climate change as as whole.
-
From 'Respektrente' to 'Abwrackprämie': Germany's words of the year 2009-2019
2017: 'Jamaika-Aus'
"Jamaica coalition" refers to the symbolic colors of three parties in German politics: black for the conservative CDU/CSU, yellow for the liberal FDP and green for the Greens. In 2017, coalition talks kept Germany busy for weeks, but then came to an abrupt halt. This was "Jamaika-Aus," or Jamaica Out.
-
From 'Respektrente' to 'Abwrackprämie': Germany's words of the year 2009-2019
2016: 'Postfaktisch'
During the US presidential election campaign, and after Donald Trump's victory in the Fall of 2016, the word "postfaktisch," or post-factual, came into common usage as it denoted the spread of fake news. Even Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) couldn't abstain from using it. It comes into play when public opinion is formed by emotions and resentments rather than objective facts.
-
From 'Respektrente' to 'Abwrackprämie': Germany's words of the year 2009-2019
2015: 'Flüchtlinge'
"Flüchtlinge" — refugees. Undoubtedly, no other issue had a bigger impact in 2015. The closest runner-up was "Je suis Charlie," an expression with which people expressed their solidarity with the victims of the terrorist attack against the French satirical journal Charlie Hebdo. Number three was "Grexit," which referred to the possibly impending expulsion of Greece from the Eurozone.
-
From 'Respektrente' to 'Abwrackprämie': Germany's words of the year 2009-2019
2014: 'Lichtgrenze'
The winning word in 2014 was "Lichtgrenze," or border of light, which refers to a light installation on the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was followed by "Schwarze Null," black zero, describing government efforts to not incur new debts. Another favorite was "Götzseidank," alluding to "Gott sei Dank" (thank God) and the legendary goal of soccer star Mario Götze in Brazil.
-
From 'Respektrente' to 'Abwrackprämie': Germany's words of the year 2009-2019
2013: 'GroKo'
"GroKo" is short for Grosse Koalition, a grand coalition of the CDU/CSU and the SPD. Recalling "Kroko," or crocodile, the word also expresses derision. The runner-up was "Protz-Bischof," or braggy bishop, referring to Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst of Limburg who came under fire for his prestigious construction projects. The term was followed by "Armutseinwanderung," poverty-driven migration.
-
From 'Respektrente' to 'Abwrackprämie': Germany's words of the year 2009-2019
2012: 'Rettungsroutine'
"Rettungsroutine," rescue routine, reflected the repetitive efforts to stabilize the European economy. "Kanzlerpräsidentin," chancellor-president, came second: It derided Merkel for acting as neutral as the German president. Third was "Bildungsabwendungsprämie," education-refusal-bonus, derogatorily used for non-working mothers who demand a bonus for not sending their kids to a kindergarten.
-
From 'Respektrente' to 'Abwrackprämie': Germany's words of the year 2009-2019
2011: 'Stresstest'
According to the GfdS, "Stresstest," stress test, so superbly expressed the spirit prevailing in 2011 that it became part of everyday speech. It referred to stress surrounding banks, train stations, governments and nuclear power stations. "Stresstest" was followed by the verb "hebeln," to lever, associated with the expansion of euro saving efforts, as well as "Arabellion," or Arab Spring.
-
From 'Respektrente' to 'Abwrackprämie': Germany's words of the year 2009-2019
2010: 'Wutbürger'
"Wutbürger," angry citizen, described the impression that political decisions were being made without asking the population first. It was followed by "Stuttgart 21," the heavily criticized reconstruction of Stuttgart's main station, and "Sarrazin-Gen", the gene of Thilo Sarrazin, a politician and author who holds highly controversial views on migrants.
-
From 'Respektrente' to 'Abwrackprämie': Germany's words of the year 2009-2019
2009: 'Abwrackprämie'
You got an "Abwrackprämie," a wreck bonus, for turning in your old car to receive a new one at a reduced price. Close favorites were "kriegsähnliche Zustände," war-like conditions, referring to Germany's involvement in peace-keeping missions in Afghanistan. And finally, the "Schweinegrippe," swine flu, turned out to be less dangerous than thought, but continued to stir public hysteria.
Author: Katharina Abel (ad)
DW sends out a daily selection of hard news and quality feature journalism. Sign up here.
