The word “mother” was chosen as the Word of the Year for 2025, announced the chair of the Montágh Committee on Monday on the M1 news channel and Kossuth Radio.
Linguist and university professor Petra Aczél said on M1 that words, when used consciously and with clear meaning, can become symbols that reflect the spirit of an entire year.
She added:
We have had a difficult year, we are in a world full of changes, in which the Hungarian nation, with its character and reality, strives to survive and remain safe.
She explained that the word “édesanya” (literal meaning sweet mother) is completely unique in Hungarian. “Anya” (mother) is one of our most ancient Hungarian words, and “édes” (sweet) has been in our language for a very long time. It is a very old word, meaning kinship, taste, and kindness. Therefore, it is important that a word comes to the fore at this time that says a little more than just that there has been a lot of it this year.
Petra Aczél said on Kossuth Radio’s Good Morning Hungary program that there are two reasons why the word “édesanya” is so relevant today. One is that Mother’s Day was first celebrated in Hungary in May 1925.
The tradition is a little older, but a youth organization chose May for this day in honor of the traditions and customs of the Virgin Mary, thus this holiday was exactly 100 years old this year. The other is that there is almost no language in which we associate the term “sweet” with one’s mother.
The President of the Montágh Committee also reminded everyone of the special beauty and difficulty of the Hungarian language.
I think that somewhere, deep down, every Hungarian speaker is very proud to speak a language that is almost impossible to learn well,”
he said, adding that many consider it to be the most difficult or second most difficult language in the world. “Some 15 million of us can say that we were born with the luxury of speaking the most difficult language in the world,” noted Petra Aczél.
The organization explained that the expression carries linguistic, cultural, emotional, and national significance, which is particularly important in today’s challenging times.
The Word of the Year 2025 draws attention to motherhood, the value around which the family, as a fundamental community, is built and which is the primary source of care, security, and emotional attachment.
Hungary, a nation entrusted to the protection of the Virgin Mary by its founder, Saint Stephen, recognizes in the word “mother” not only a personal symbol, but also a symbol of national and cultural security, certainty, and loving attachment, which in the Hungarian language uniquely expresses both kinship and deep emotional content.
Each year, the members of the advisory, review, recommendation and supervisory body belonging to the MTVA organization select the one word that most expressively refers to the events of the given year and draws attention to the most important value amid changing circumstances and global challenges.
The primary task of the Montágh Board is to cultivate the native language and behavioral culture, thereby supporting the preservation and creation of cultural values.
Fact
Since 2020, the Word of the Year has been announced every December by the public service media based on the votes of the board members. In 2020, the word chosen was “each other,” in 2021, “family,” in 2022, “peace,” in 2023, “child,” and in 2024, “faith,” according to the summary.
Via MTI; Featured photo: Pexels
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