This year’s word of the year was voted to be ‘Fly-sein’ which translates, and originates from the English expression ‘being fly’.
There are however some entirely artificial efforts to tap into the youthful evolution of language. In Germany, for example, the respected ‘Langenscheidt’ dictionary holds an annual competition to find the coolest word of the year for teenagers. There is a call for public submissions to create a pool of words, then a jury of high school students, YouTube stars, linguists, teachers and journalists choose the winner. This year’s word of the year was voted to be ‘Fly-sein’ which translates, and originates from the English expression ‘being fly’. The decision surprised many observers as it is such an out-of-fashion expression in English. But most of all, it surprised many young people as they had never heard of it – let alone used it.