The candidates for the Youth Word 2023 were presented on August 9th. With “Auf Lock”, there is also an expression among the suggestions that is often heard on Twitch. But our author Schuhmann already suspects: MontanaBlack will claim that he popularized the word “Diggah” in Germany, because the 35-year-old constantly claims something for himself. Whether with iced tea or everyday verbs: practically everything in Germany is known to us only because of him.
These are the 10 candidates for the Youth Word 2023: The Tagesschau has now taken to presenting the Youth Word by the spokesperson Susanne Daubner and spreading it widely on social media.
Because Daubner’s way of pronouncing youth words in a distanced and professional manner has become a meme since “Sus” and “Slay”:
The candidates for the Youth Word 2023 are:
- Rizz – The ability of a person to flirt and be verbally charming
- Digga(h) – An address for a buddy or colleague, originally from the Hamburg area / Can also express astonishment or indignation as an exclamation
- Darf er so – Expression of amazement, presumably originated from the comedy program “Darf er das” by Chris Tall
- NPC – Non-player character, in contrast to the “main character”, the hero of a story, the NPC is “only” a supporting character, thus someone who apparently cannot think independently
- goofy – for clumsy behavior
- Guy/gal – Address for a friend
- Slay – Expression of admiration
- Side eye – is supposed to express disdain
- YOLO – “You only live once”, was previously a Youth Word and is therefore used as an example of how outdated the selection of youth words is
- Auf Lock – “in a relaxed manner”, to approach something easily
Why will MontanaBlack claim the word “Diggah” for himself? The German Twitch streamer MontanaBlack is known for claiming that this or that phrase, product, or gesture he has “actually made popular in Germany”.
As someone who grew up near Hamburg, “Diggah” is part of his active vocabulary, and the Twitch streamer indeed uses the word practically all the time.
MontanaBlack made everything big in Germany
What other things does he claim? Examples of what MontanaBlack has referred to as “I actually made this big in Germany” include:
- The “Lipton Ice Tea”
@streaming_germany Monte has something on his mind 😂 #montanablack #monte #monteclips #viral #trending #twitch #youtube #lipton #fy #foryou #fürdich ♬ Original sound – Streaming Germany
- The verb “gönnen”
@monteclips How did the name “gönnergy” come about? #montanablack #monte #monteclip ♬ Original sound – Monte Clips
- the surfer gesture “Hang loose”. However, it is originally not from MontanaBlack but introduced in Germany by his friend “Flying Uwe”, at least claims MontanaBlack. He has then also adopted the gesture.
Is Diggah actually his? No, really not. Diggah became known nationwide in Germany in the 90s through Hamburg hip-hop icons. Artists like Absolute Beginner, Fünf Sterne Deluxe or “Das Bo” (of course, of course, sure dude) have made the word popular in Germany 30 years ago.
This cultural achievement should be acknowledged to the 90s. Maybe MontanaBlack will argue that he introduced the word to a new generation of viewers.
The word “Auf Lock” actually comes from the German Twitch community and can serve as an example of the influence of gaming influencers on youth.
@honeypuu_ Auf Looooooock! 🤝😂 #honeypuu #referat #schule #moderation #auflock #stream #streamer #lustig #funny #haha #viral #fürdich #foryou #fy #fyp #foryoupage ♬ Original sound – Honeypuu
NPC, on the other hand, is clearly a term from the role-playing and MMORPG scene, and could thus have slipped into everyday language through Twitch.
Youth Word of the Year 2022 suggests Twitch terms – How many do you know?
