Choice coined by Corona – “Systemically relevant” is the word of the year 2020 – News

Twelve of the twelve Swiss words in the year are related to the crown pandemic. In German-speaking Switzerland it is “systemically relevant”, “masked sinners” and “bumpy air”.

The German-Swiss word of the year is “systemically relevant”. The president of the jury, Marlies Whitehouse, of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), explains the decision: “On the one hand, the Federal Council has determined which sectors are fundamental for society and the economy. On the other hand, everyone wondered: Am I not also relevant in this system? ”.

Marlies whitehouse

Responsible for the project “Word of the year” at ZHAW

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Marlies Whitehouse studied German, English and Japanese and worked in the financial industry. She researches the production and reception of financial texts at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) and works as a writing instructor. She also writes short stories herself, which have been awarded various prizes. He coordinates the project “Word of the year” in the four national languages ​​and chairs the Swiss-German jury.

Al ZHAW – Swiss Word of the Year, Link opens in a new window

The word is also a direct hit because it underwent a dramatic change in meaning in 2020. In its first run, during the financial crisis of 2008, it referred exclusively to big banks. This spring, all of a sudden, the nurses and saleswomen received the award for the relevance of the system. Despite the applause of the pandemic, nothing has changed in terms of the low income in these professions.

“Masked sinners” second

The word is strange at first glance, because hardly anyone has it on their radar. At least not compared to long-running favorites like “Crown” or “Mask Requirement.” But, according to Marlies Whitehouse, the jury doesn’t just decide the frequency of a word. The words of the year are intended to summarize a speech and at the same time stimulate thought. “Masked sinner” is a new word that is used particularly often in Switzerland, and with the keyword “sin” it even recalls a biblical plague.

What about “paternity leave”?

The jury debated for a long time about “more of the class” and “paternity leave.” But in the end, with “push air”, another “crown word” made it into the top three. This topic could not be avoided in 2020. As little as in the juries of the other national languages: twelve of the twelve Swiss words in the year are related to the crown pandemic.

Legend:

Word of the year 2020

In German-speaking Switzerland, “systemically relevant”, “masked sinners” and “stosslüften” came from first to third place. The crisis of the crown also dominates the election in the other linguistic regions.

Cornerstone / Paul Zinken

Comprehensive responsibility

The Italian-speaking jury chose “Responsabilità” behind “Pandemic” in the first place. This does not mean only one responsible action of each individual: staying home, wearing a mask, etc. It also means – keyword: corporate responsibility initiative – the responsibility of the economy for its actions.

The word “luttes” (struggle) should be understood equally broadly, and the French-speaking jury placed it in third place. “Luttes” represents the fight against the pandemic, but also the feminist fight, the anti-racist fight and the fight for the climate, all of which were also a theme in this crown year.

What does the crown trench tell us?

The word of the year in French-speaking Switzerland is surprising: “Trench Crown”. A German word. Does that go against discussions about why French cantons tend to have a higher number of cases than German-speaking cantons? No, says Marlies Whitehouse. It is not about expanding the Röstigraben in Crown times, but about the fact that different measures against the pandemic were taken in the same country at the same time and therefore people experienced different realities.

“Positive” turns negative

The Rhaeto-Romanic jury set another example by choosing “positivity” as one of their three words of the year. That a life-affirming word like “positivity” takes on such a negative meaning in the context of “Corona” is typical of the misery of this crisis. Show that nothing is like before.