Germany has announced the winning word in the Anglicism 2021 category. It turned out to be a neologism verb "booster" (boostern), formed from the name of the third, additional vaccination against coronavirus. As Deutsche Welle notes, the pandemic continues to have a direct impact on the attitude of citizens, and therefore on the German language.

A jury of linguists and philologists headed by Anatol Stefanovich, a professor at the Free University of Berlin, had to choose an English word that "had a positive impact on the development of the German vocabulary." Among the applicants there were many phrases and expressions that have become signs of the coronavirus era.

Previous winners include "fake news", "influencer" and "refugees welcome"

For example, "long covid" (long COVID) or "quar-code" (QR-code). However, the word "booster" burst into use most rapidly. It was not sent down from above, imposed by doctors or epidemiologists, but "originated in a live colloquial speech", and in December even entered the Duden dictionary of the German language. Moreover, the Germans not only took the English noun "booster", but instantly turned it into a verb, creatively reworking foreign borrowing. So, ultimately, this neologism can be considered an "original German invention." Scientists awarded him first place for "optimism". According to the jury, this capacious concept evokes positive associations among the speakers and gives hope. The Anglicism of the Year initiative has been running since 2010. Last year, the palm was given to the word "lockdown".

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