“Bubi”, name of shared-bike system, is the Hungarian word of 2017
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Every year, the Word of the Year is announced during the Night of the Museums in the Museum of the Hungarian Language. This year, it is “Bubi”, the name of the Budapest city bike system, szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu reports. They also picked an “anti-word”, a “youth word” and a “poetic word”. Read on to find out what characterised 2017 according to the linguists.
The word of the year is “Bubi”, the name of the shared-bike system of Budapest, which is an acronym from “Budapest” + “bicikli” (bicycle). The decision was made by the linguists at Manyszi (Hungarian Language Services Office) and professional colleagues, said linguist Károly Minya on Saturday night at Széphalom.
As Minya, an instructor at the University of Nyíregyháza and vocabulary researcher explained:
“Bubi is an environmentally friendly, community-building city bike system. The name has become widespread and popular since the launching of the service, it is easy to remember and has earned currency in the Hungarian language.”
The “anti-word” of the year is plázaterepjáró, “mall jeep”, which denotes the flashy cars with an increased ride height that are often found in the parking lots of shopping centres. According to the committee, such vehicles represent the superficiality of the consumer society and evoke a rather disagreeable way of life.
