2020 in Words

Once the dust settles, life gets back to normal, and linguists start their studies, 2020 will surely go down in Russian history as one of the most word-productive years since the changes of 1917 and 1992.

Words that once were so odd and new that no one knew where to put the stress are now part of everyday speech. Коронавирус (coronavirus) is ковид or the slangier корона, as in: Как вы думаете, вот скорая приехала на дом к больному и сразу определила, что у него корона? (What do you think, did an ambulance make a house call and immediately diagnose him with “corona”?)

Hospitals specializing in Covid patients are called ковидник or ковидница (Covid-nik or Covid-nitsa, playing on клиник — clinic — or больница — hospital) or less frequently ковидарий (Covidarium). And no one is frightened by the thought of a room full of masked people. In fact, it’s welcomed: Все были в масках, и слава Богу! (Everyone was in a mask, thank God!)

When the Pushkin Institute of the Russian Language considered what words to choose as слова года (words of the year) for 2020, they voted for самоизоляция (self-isolation) and обнуление (zeroing out, the term for what was done to Vladimir Putin’s previous presidential terms, allowing him to run again). 

Самоизоляция has been around for a long time: Советские художники выпали из пространства культуры во время самоизоляции от Европы (Soviet artists were outside the cultural arena during the country’s self-isolation from Europe). But today it means almost the same thing as another new word: локдаун (lockdown): В Бурятии ввели локдаун — первый за осень в России (Buryatia introduced a lockdown — the first in Russia this autumn). Organizations can self-isolate, too: Музей перешёл в режим самоизоляции. (The museum has switched to a regimen of self-isolation.)

Обнулить (to zero out) has become a major meme in Russia — and a very attractive option: Можно обнулить количество калорий, которые я сегодня съел? (Can I zero out the number of calories I ate today?) There is also another version of this word that looks like a blend of обнулить and a word not used in polite company. This new word is öбнуться. This has several meanings, although to crash and to go crazy are the most common. От массы информации об угрозе можно ёбнуться быстрее, чем от реальной угрозы. (The huge mass of information about a threat can make you crazier than a real threat.) Now you can buy t-shirts printed with öбнулись! It’s a kind of snarky suggestion that the zeroing out of terms is either crazy, or like a train crash, or like something else unprintable.

О, великий могучий русский язык! (Oh, the great and powerful Russian language!)

The Pushkin Institute noted some other words that defined the year, including дистанцирование (distancing); голосование (voting); карантин (quarantine); конституция (Constitution); поправки (amendments); and удалёнка (work from home).

Two other new words are more mysterious: ауф and падра. Both appear to be from pop songs, and for that reason alone defy definition. But it seems that ауф is a version of wow — not clear from what language — that expresses amazement, approval or dislike. Падра is a short, cool form of подруга (girlfriend) — maybe a bit like BFF?

Another “new” Russian word is actually an old word with a new meaning. In English you can attend a skill-building workshop. In Russian now, to the dismay of purists, people urge you to прокачать скиллы (build up your skills) or even tell you: Я прокачанный в истории. (I’m strong in history, literally “I built up my skills in history.”)

The hope for 2021? A boring year with no new words.