It is usual practice that, as the end of the year approaches, various entities, especially those associated with the use of languages, determine which words have been most used during the period.
Regarding the English language, the Cambridge and Oxford dictionaries have already spoken.
The first communicated last Wednesday the 17th that the word for 2021 in that language is perseverance, which translated into Spanish is equivalent to perseverance.
They argued their choice stating that “English learners rarely use the word perseverance, but our data shows that our users around the world searched for it more than 243,000 times in 2021”, according to Russia Today report.
For its part, the Oxford dictionary selected as the most popular word vax, which is a short version of the noun vaccinate or the verb vaccinate.
The experts of that authority of the English language refer that this word has been used very frequently both by speakers in general and by authorities in their statements and speeches.
So much so that the Oxford dictionary ensures that “The word Vax managed to inject itself into the English language more than any other in 2021.”
The lead editor of that dictionary, Fiona McPherson, has stated that vax was the obvious choice as it had caused the “strongest impact.”
Among the speakers of the Russian language the word Sputnik takes the palms, as announced the Pushkin Institute.
“The word Sputnik has begun to be used in 2021 with a frequency nine times higher than before”, refers that institution promoting the Russian language in the world.
They found that this term now appears strongly associated with the first Russian vaccine against Covid-19 and that the frequency of its use increased with the recognition of said vaccine abroad and a wide discussion on vaccination issues.
Undoubtedly, in this 2021 also for Spanish speakers the word vaccine It has been one of the most repeated and used in many different contexts, from those who feel protected by it to those who cry out to receive it on their shoulder.
However, we will have to wait for the authorities of the Spanish language to pronounce themselves. Last year, confinement was the word of the year, also accompanied by words such as Covid-19, coronavirus, resilience, teleworking and pandemic, among others.
Some websites related to the Spanish language are even voting for netizens to choose from a list of possible words.
The truth is that, at least in this Caribbean geography, the word vaccine has also possibly been one of the most used and, best of all, associated with lives saved, self-help and sovereignty.