The words of 2021, the terms that marked the rhythm of a world in turmoil - Lifestyle

2021 was a year full of events, the implications of which have often been felt internationally.

The Draghi government, the victory of the Azzurri at the European Championships, vaccination campaigns around the world, various diplomatic or political scandals and conferences on the climate: these and others are the key events of 2021, accompanied by the environmental and socio-political lexicon of reference.

Once again, then, the language sets the pace for a world in turmoil.

Here are some crucial terms, selected by Babbel, to understand this year coming to an end.

From politics, to the environment to society, they show the themes that marked the various countries in 2021.

“Working as a linguist it is essential to pay particular attention to the news and what is happening around us in order to follow linguistic trends and teach a living language,” says Gianluca Pedrotti, expert in intercultural communication and editor of the Babbel language team. “Likewise, the world we see is defined by the words we use. Analyzing the terms used by the media and present in public discourse is therefore an excellent way to understand how our social and political context is evolving. "

Meaning: regaining titles and cups that have been absent for a long time in the Italian palmarès With blue we mean the athletes of the Bel Paese, by virtue of the color of the uniforms worn by the Italian selections.

Context: Never before has Italy achieved so many successes in sport and entertainment as this year. Starting from Laura Pausini's victory at the Golden Globes for best original song, to the success of

at the Eurovision Song Contest. Or again,

after 53 years from the last title,

Italian history and the 40 overall medals at the Tokyo Olympics, with the two historic gold medals in the 100 meters and in the jump in tall.

Meaning: Social inclusion represents the condition in which all individuals live in a state of equity and equal opportunity.

Context: in 2021 the Italian media and various personalities of the show took the field to talk about the Zan bill, which provides for measures to combat discrimination and violence for reasons based on sexual orientation, gender identity and disability. A law, therefore, in favor of inclusion and equal opportunities for all, which would have represented a turning point for Italy.

was blocked in the Senate a few weeks ago: a rejection that led thousands of citizens throughout Italy to take to the streets to demonstrate.

Meaning: A government supported by a large majority.

Context: following the political crisis that led the Conte government to lose the majority, President Sergio Mattarella has instructed Mario Draghi, former President of the European Central Bank, to form a government to address the health, economic and social crises linked to the pandemic , as well as managing the recovery fund policies promoted by the European Union. The Draghi government is supported by a large majority of the Italian Parliament and is made up of politicians belonging to different parties, as well as independent technocrats, therefore it is defined as “of national unity”.

Translation: petrol crisis

Meaning: Abrupt and prolonged stopping or slowing of refueling.

Background: the focus of British media attention and beyond was the fuel supply crisis which left thousands of UK petrol stations empty for a few weeks. Discomfort according to many due to Brexit and the consequent logistics crises such as the shortage of hauliers to supply distributors. To try to solve the problem, the government called for military intervention and granted temporary visas to the hauliers until Christmas Eve.

Translation: assault

Meaning: violent attack, mostly armed, against people or places.

Background: On January 6, the Washington Capitol was attacked by a violent mob that aimed to disrupt the joint sessions of Congress that were supposed to formalize Joe Biden's victory, attacking law enforcement and vandalizing the building. This event, whose images have traveled around the world and will remain in history, led to the second motion to impeach Trump, the second "impeachment", from which he was later acquitted.

Translation: volcano

Meaning: natural opening of the earth's crust from which magma emerges in the form of lava accompanied by gaseous emanations.

Background: Spain was shaken by the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano in La Palma, one of the Canary Islands, recorded in September this year. Two months later, volcanic activity shows no signs of exhaustion. The lava flows have buried hundreds of hectares of land and destroyed thousands of buildings. In addition, authorities have ordered temporary lockdown periods to avoid exposure to the volcano's gas and ash.

Translation: hello mom

Meaning: farewell for the end of Angela Merkel's last term. "Tschüss" in fact means "hello", while "mutti" (from "mutter"), or "mother", is the affectionate nickname given to the now former German chancellery by its supporters.

Context: The end of the mandate of Angela Merkel, the first woman to hold the office of Chancellor, and thus the end of her 16-year "era" (die Merkel-Ära), was deeply felt in Germany. His pragmatism, his modesty and his reserve have in fact always been liked by the Germans. Despite the formal farewell, Angela Merkel is still in office as the federal elections have not decreed a strong majority and the parties are still consulting on possible coalitions.

Translation: genocide

Meaning: Violent crimes committed against certain groups of individuals with the intent to destroy them.

Background: The Brazilian press, as well as the population on social media, have called the government's handling of the pandemic genocide. In fact, the campaign in favor of ineffective drugs, the boycott of the main prevention measures (masks, social distancing and vaccines) and the lack of oxygen supply to the Amazonian populations were strongly criticized. The management of the pandemic has also aroused disapproval in the Senate, where recently the Commission of Inquiry into Covid approved the conclusions of an investigation in which the indictment of President Jair Bolsonaro is recommended. In the event of a conviction, Bolsonaro will not be able to stand as a candidate for 8 years.

Translation: Fisheries war

Meaning: struggle between states or coalitions for the resolution of an international dispute more or less motivated by real or presumed ideological or economic conflicts of interest.

Background: It all stems from the difficulty for French fishing vessels to obtain fishing licenses to operate in the British waters of the English Channel, unlike as foreseen in the post-Brexit agreements. In the summer, the conflict had even given rise to the intervention of patrol ships of both the English and French navies. The situation was then resolved; however, the controversy rekindled in November, when France announced the entry into force of the first measures against the Channel Islands and London if the number of licenses granted to French fishermen were to remain insufficient.

Translation: abortion

Meaning: premature termination of a pregnancy.

Context: the term has become very relevant following the enactment and simultaneous entry into force of the sentence of the Polish Constitutional Court which prohibits abortion, except in cases of incest, rape or danger to the life of the mother, making a law even more restrictive among the most severe in Europe. This law had already been approved in 2020 but until January of this year its official publication had been suspended. Since then, women and the opposition have protested against this rule wanted by the sovereign government.

Meaning: climate change, or the alteration directly or indirectly attributable to human action of certain environmental and climatic parameters, is recognized as an increasingly urgent problem and therefore as a real emergency.

Background:

, while in August an Italian city, Syracuse, reached the highest temperature ever recorded in Europe (48.8 degrees). Hot record but not only. Fires have also increased in Europe (for example in Greece and Sardinia) and floods, such as those in West Germany and Belgium. Experts believe this is all due to the long-term impact of climate change. Furthermore, this was a significant year for the climate as two major events on the topic took place, Cop26 and Youth4Climate.

Meaning: abbreviation for vaccine, which are biological medicines that aim to prevent one or more infectious diseases by stimulating the immune system.

Context: elected together with all its compounds (“anti-vaxxer”, “double-vaxxed” and so on) word of the year from the Oxford Dictionary, vax refers in this case to the vaccine against Covid infection19. Over the course of this year, countries around the world have started vaccinating their populations. The difficult initial availability, the management of the vaccination plan of the various states, their effectiveness, which contributed to the return of a new normality, and the manifestations of no-vaxes, were at the center of media attention.

Translation: the scandal of the sofa

Meaning: sofa is the English equivalent of sofa, while the suffix "-gate" comes from a single case then extended to several other scandals and investigations, that of the Watergate scandal, from the name of a hotel of relevance for that particular investigation, which exposed the abuses of the American Republican Party in the 1972 election campaign.

Background: Sofagate is a diplomatic incident that occurred during the visit of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel to Turkey in April. Only two chairs had been prepared for the meeting: Michel was offered to sit next to Erdoğan while

on a sofa in the same room.

This incident was condemned internationally for the serious lack of respect for women by the Turkish government but not only.

In fact, Michel has also received various criticisms for not having given way to the president of the European Commission.