Hallucination, dana, mud, fatphobia, restlessness, mena, micro-floor, narcolancha, pellet, reduflation, touristification and woke. It is not a coded message or a code encrypted by acronyms, but rather the words – arranged alphabetically – nominated for “word of the year” and nominated by the Urgent Spanish Foundation (FundéuRAE), an entity promoted by the Royal Spanish Academy and the EFE Agency.
The previous winners, for eleven years, were “escrache” (2013), “selfi” (2014), “refugee” (2015), “populism” (2016), “aporophobia” (2017), “microplastic” (2018 ), “emojis” (2019), “confinement” (2020), “vaccine” (2021), “artificial intelligence” (2022) and “polarization” (2023). The word of the year for 2024 will be announced next Thursday, December 19.
This year, FundéuRAE has selected its candidates taking into account the main current journalistic topics, such as housing, technology, tourism or the environment.
Like every year, the voices selected by the FundéuRAE have been twelve words candidates for “word of the year 2024”. The twelve meet two requirements. On the one hand, they are words that have appeared with particular frequency in the media and in social debate in the last twelve months. On the other hand, we try to ensure that all the candidates have some interest from a linguistic point of view: that they generate doubts among the speakers, that they have acquired a new meaning, that they have been formed in an unusual way.
Hallucination. Although it is not a new word, both it and “hallucinate” have expanded their meaning with the development of artificial intelligence. They are used in the field of technology to refer to the invention of misinformation by artificial intelligence systems. It is an extension of the meaning that these words already had, and it is not necessary to mark them with italics or quotation marks.
Dana. The serious floods in the east and south of the Iberian Peninsula have caused usage in the media to skyrocket during the last quarter of Dana (with lowercase letters), the lexicalization of DANA, an acronym for “isolated depression at high levels.” The dana way has been incorporated into the Dictionary of the Spanish Language in its latest update, which was made public this Tuesday, December 10. If it is used as an acronym, it will be written entirely in capital letters, but it is already used as a lexicalized common noun written in lower case: “la dana”.
Mud. The consequences of the damage in Spain, and the cleanup work, which still continues in many affected places, have multiplied the appearances of the term “mud” in the Spanish media. Likewise, this noun has been very present in political and social information with its second meaning, ‘vilification, degradation’, a case in which it does not need quotation marks or italics.
Fatphobia. Another voice that has been heard this year is “fatphobia”, written in a single word and without a hyphen. To refer to everything related to it, or to those who have this aversion or rejection, it is grammatically valid to use both the adjectives “fatphobic” and “fatphobic.”
Inquiokupa. The housing problem has focused the attention of citizens, media and politicians in many countries, which is why the words and expressions related to this topic have been special protagonists all year. This neologism is formed from the truncation of “tenant”, to which the term “squatter” is added.
Ore. The situation of unaccompanied foreign minors, the name to which the acronym MENA corresponds, who arrive in a new country has been another of the most present political debates in various places. Although as an acronym it is written with capital letters, its lexicalization as a common noun written in lower case is well established: “un mena”, “los menas”.
Micro apartment. Continuing with the question of housing in many countries, another of the terms that has been repeated the most has been “micro-floor”, formed by the union of the prefix micro- (meaning “very small”) to the noun floorwith the meaning of “a set of rooms that constitute independent housing in a house of various heights.” Remember that it is written in a single word, without a hyphen or space.
Narcolancha. The compositional element narco- (which means “drug”) appears together with very diverse voices to express its relationship with this type of substances. It is found in “narcodollar”, “drug trafficking” or “narcoviolence”, and in others of more recent appearance such as “narcolancha”.
Pellet. The foreign term “pellet” is currently used in multiple contexts. The word “pellet” has entered the Dictionary of the Spanish Language (DLE) in its latest update. This word — which in Spanish could also be adapted as “pélet” — was very present, for example, in the Spanish media due to the large spill of small plastic balls that occurred on the beaches of Galicia at the beginning of the year.
Reduflation. The increase in the cost of goods and services in recent months not only translates into higher prices, but sometimes also into a smaller product at the same price. For this reason, the voice “reduflation”, acronym formed from “reduction” and “inflation”, has been another of the most repeated during 2024.
Touristification. The perception of “touristification” (a valid term to refer to the impact of tourist massification) in certain cities or regions has filled the front pages of newspapers around the world. The increase in tourist housing or the limitation of the arrival of travelers in crowded areas are just two of the aspects that have focused the social debate in 2024. “Tourism” is also used in a similar sense., although it is more common to refer, in a more neutral way, to the fact of making something touristy.
Woke. This Anglicism is usually translated as an informal adjective with the meaning of “sensitive to injustice,” and in Spanish it is used both positively and negatively in multiple contexts. It is written in italics if it is pronounced the same as in English (more or less /wóuk/), but it can be adapted and written in round and without quotes if it is pronounced as it is written, /wóke/.
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