Shitstorm is the “German Anglicism for 2011”. According to an independent German jury which selected shitstorm from some 60 proposals, “The word fills a gap in the German vocabulary resulting from changes in the public culture of discussion. Over the last year the word has moved from the net community into normal use.”
Criteria for German Anglicism of the Year are that the English word must fill a gap in the vocabulary, find broad acceptance in general use and fit well into the verbal and grammatical structure of the German language. Shitstorm – this year’s winning word – fits all these categories.
Shitstorm describes ongoing and unplanned outrage about the behaviour of persons in public life or institutions, a criticism carried by social networks and blogs. A shitstorm quickly becomes independent, moves away from the factual core and spills over into the traditional media. According to the jury “shitstorm” describes a new type of protest differing in type and scope to what happened in the past. Shitstorm as a word allowed a clear differentiation to words such as criticism, protest or indignation. And even though the word comes from American slang, it is not considered vulgar in Germany.
The second ranked German Anglicism was stresstest.
