In January, Sweden's leading newspaper looks back at the year that's been and selects all the new words that have been created. Swedish media are really good at preserving the Swedish language and creating new words, and this is an important function for all small languages. The varacious apitite of English is slowly devouring small languages around the world.
Some of the new words that came up in 2010:
Sosseväskan - Socialist Designer Handbag
Vabfebruari - February month when most parents stay home from work with sick kids
Köttklister - Glue that holds together bits of meat
Vulkanflyktning - people trapped abroad after the volcanic eruption on Iceland
Playa - to watch a program on the internet that you missed when it was broadcast on the tv
Grogghaggor - Booze bitches - relating to the Sex and the City gang (and the like)
70 percenter - a person who waits to the final week of the sales
Pinjemun - to eat a bad pine kernel and get a bad taste in the mouth for weeks
Fritzla - to hide something or somebody very successfully
Hipsterbuk - the fat that hangs over the top of too-low-cut jeans
Kaffeflicka - a woman who is invited to gentlemen's dinners to drink coffee (revealed in a scandalous book about the king)
I'm not sure it's the English language that has the varacious apetite. I'd say it's the varacious apetite of the Swedes (etc)themselves for everything American/English. It's the Swedish media wot does the damage. Bland annat. Take the ridiculous "Let's Dance" title, frinstance. They could've chosen a Swedish tite, but no. It's not as if they're going to sell the show abroad or anything.
ReplyDeleteSays Grey N.