Who says new year, says new words to add to our vocabulary. It seems that most French people use 5,000 of them on a daily basis. We’ve put together 22 new words that should creep up on our vocabulary. Here is the first episode of our Afterlife Calendar, 2022 trend book.
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Blob : Be careful not to confuse this word with the bob, long considered the pinnacle of outdatedness. Blobs fascinate scientists, who claim they can be the source of major discoveries. These organisms live in the undergrowth in their natural state and consist of a single giant cell capable of moving, memorizing and even transmitting knowledge to their congeners. However, it is difficult to characterize them: they are neither animals, nor plants, nor mushrooms. Fortunately, they are harmless!
Cannamoms : It’s not just young people who use cannabis on a daily basis. More and more mothers are taking microdoses of this gentle drug to relax and reduce their mental load as Danielle Simone Brand describes in the book “Weed Mom: The Canna-Curious Woman’s Guide to Healthier Relaxation, Happier Parenting, and Chilling TF Out”. If cannamoms are particularly popular in North America, the movement is gaining momentum and attracting more and more young parents. Soon the cannacouple?
Cheugy : A word that literally has exploded in the United States in 2021, notably on TikTok. And it might well replace the famous “Ok, boomer”. Not very flattering, the term refers to people who follow trends considered out of date. To be taken with a distance therefore. Indeed, who has never flashed or wanted to take out a pair of Converse or a lumberjack-style plaid shirt from their closet?
Cryptomonnaie : Rather Bitcoins, Ethereum or Ripple? Let anyone who has never dreamed of making a fortune with these digital currencies raise their hand! Also nicknamed “virtual currency”, this new form of 100% dematerialized money makes it possible to exchange assets between individuals without the intermediary of a bank and without paper support. At present, there are believed to be over 6000 cryptomonnaies in the world.
Of consumption : The notion of deconsumption was theorized by the English researcher Chris Goodall and described by the French author Cécile Désaunay in the essay “The deconsumption society: the revolution of living better while consuming less”, published in February 2021. The principle is simple: adopt a reasoned consumption, that is to say by refocusing more on its needs and by privileging quality to the detriment of quantity. Concretely, this can be illustrated by the choice to offer fewer gifts at Christmas or to opt for second hand shopping.
Frugalisme : This term refers to a lifestyle of putting aside money in order to work for less time in order to enjoy life to the fullest. This movement first saw the light of day in the United States, where it is known as “Financial independence, retire early” (FIRE). Which means in French: “financial independence, early retirement”. Because, for many, this existence of ants aims to retire as soon as possible! At 50, or even 40, if finances allow.
Gender fluid : Gender identity is also undergoing a revolution. From now on, we no longer speak only of the “feminine” and the “masculine”. Some people willingly embrace the feminine and the masculine or simply wish to free themselves from these two notions. They are called “genderfluid” or the “non-binary”. A new gender identity that we see appearing in the media in recent years, especially in the second season of the series “Sex Education”, released on Netflix in September 2021.
Boomerang generation: A few years ago, young adults who returned to live with their parents were viewed with a dim view. They were even given the nickname “Tanguy”, in reference to the squeaky comedy by Etienne Chatiliez, released on French screens in 2001. But things have changed with the pandemic and we now collectively rethink the relations between the generations. So much the better !
GOAT : What do Meryl Streep and Claude Dartois, from Koh-Lanta have in common? Internet users refer to them both as “GOAT”, the acronym for “Greatest of All Time”. This English expression appeared in the 90s but has recently become democratized thanks to social networks. We can read that Rafael Nadal and Eminem are the GOATs of their respective professions, to understand the best. Be careful, however, not to understand this expression with its namesake “goat” (“goat” in French), at the risk of sounding like a boomer.
Infodemia: The hunt for fake news is on, especially a few months before the presidential election. This portmanteau refers to a mixture of information that is both accurate and inaccurate on a subject. This has a direct impact on our ability to understand the challenges of a phenomenon as complex as the health crisis or the political climate.
JOMO : This acronym refers to the English expression “joy of missing out”, or the joy that some people can feel by not going to all the events that are offered to them. You don’t want to attend the baptism of your postman’s nephew or the birthday of your aunt’s distant cousin? Don’t be ashamed to decline invitations and adopt the JOMO attitude.
Mentrification : A somewhat learned term but which designates a fact now well known: the invisibilization of women through the centuries, by and for men. Inspired by the term ‘gentrification’, the word was theorized by Australian writer and activist Van Badham. No field is spared, be it cinema, gastronomy, the arts or science. An edifying example of mentrification? Albert Einstein had a wife, Mileva Marić-Einstein, with whom he discovered the famous theory of relativity. Still, it’s a safe bet that you just read these lines.
Metaverse: Contraction of meta-universe (“metaverse” in English), this new buzzword describes a perfect replica of our world, but in a 100% digital version. A parallel universe in virtual reality, only accessible via the internet. If the idea from metaverse Just emerging, it promises us from the outset interactions freed from all physical constraints thanks to 3D.
Mys: “Hygge” in Denmark, «Nothing» in the Netherlands … The Nordics are the champions of life philosophies centered around well-being. The Swedes have also adopted one: the “Mys”. Derived from the Swedish word “fredagsmys” (which can be translated as “entertaining Fridays”), this way of life is all regarding having a good time, for example by tasting your favorite foods or by allowing yourself an evening away from the streets. screens An art of living which is not reminiscent of the famous mantra “Hakuna Matata” of Timon and Pumbaa in “The Lion King … and which applies perfectly to this beginning of the year plagued by the health crisis.
Neopronoms: Did you think that the French language has only nine pronouns? Think once more. In recent years, epicene pronouns like “iel”, “ul” and “ol” have been created to address non-binary people without making them invisible. You can use it this way: “I love Sam Smith’s new album. He is really my favorite artist! ”. Our vocabulary is all the more enriched.
NFT: The Collins Dictionary made it its Word of the Year in 2021. But it’s a safe bet that few of us really understand the meaning of this acronym, which refers to digital objects whose authenticity is verified by blockchain technology. It might sound very technical, but they make it possible to become the official owner of tweets, memes and GIFs … and to be able to boast regarding them openly on social media. #Laclasse.
Plasticroûte : We grant you: this word is not likely to interfere in all your conversations. But you risk pronouncing it if you walk on the beach and you see a strange blue tint encrusted in the rocks of the coast. These colored fragments actually correspond to plastic microparticles rejected by the oceans. The phenomenon was discovered in 2016 by Portuguese scientists during an expedition to the island of Madeira. And, unfortunately, this is probably not the only place on the planet where you will be able to see these plastic scabs.
Slow working : Work more to earn more, we know. But what if, in 2022, we start from the principle that we must work less to become more efficient? This is the ideology of “slow working”. No more pressure for deadlines and the cult of urgency, we take our time as we do with “slow cooking” or le «slow travel». There is no doubt that slowing down is “the new cool”.
Velogistics: Cycling has made a big splash in cities since 2020. First there was the development of “vélotaf” – understand the bicycle used daily to go to work. Now, the time has come for “velogistics”, a new portmanteau word for delivery in cargo bike. These funny biclounes, capable of supporting tens of kilos, are more and more used for last mile deliveries because they are fast, agile and able to sneak through the jungle of cities!
Web3 : Most Internet users have never heard of Web 3.0, while technophiles have only that word to mouth. He refers to the idea that cryptocurrencies and the “blockchain” might contribute to the decentralization of the Internet. The platforms and applications built on Web3 will not be the property of a central actor, but will belong to the users themselves. A small democratic revolution.
Woke : A word whose appearance goes back a few years, but which you have not finished hearing. In particular in these heated debates surrounding the French presidential campaign. Popularized in our country in 2020 during the Black Lives Matter movement, “wokism” comes from the English verb “wake” and designates the awakening of consciousness around societal struggles such as feminism, anti-racism or decolonialism. But, unlike the famous Asian dish (which is written without the “e”), this woke is not to everyone’s taste …
Zennials : We know millennials and Zs. Now welcome the Zennials. This micro-generation refers to “adulescents” born between 1992 and 1998. They borrow characteristics from the millennials and to WITH, to the delight of brands. They are said to be as addicted to TikTok as they are concerned regarding the environment, as adepts of the second hand as of the cheugy attitude. Difficult to pin down? Yes. But they assume it!
The After Calendar:
After the Covid shock in 2020, we expected the world of After, aligned, appeased. In the end, it is digital, hybrid life that has imposed itself, with screens that have become essential to all our activities, from education to work, from love to shopping. This accelerated virtualization makes us nostalgic for a Before, a world and a nature now idealized. This is how the metaverse and the newstalgia coexist in our 2022 forecasts … Find all the trends in the Post 2022 Calendar … Enjoy your reading
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