Unquestionably, the huge storm that devastated the east and south of Spain last October was a shock for Europeans, causing floods, deaths and other damage.

This misfortune positioned the noun in digital and print media, and also in daily dialogue.

It was thus that the word Dana, incorporated into the Dictionary of the Spanish language in its latest update, made public at the beginning of this December, prevailed, obtaining first place over eleven other candidates: hallucination, mud, fatphobia, inquiokupa, mena, micropiso, narcolancha, pellet, reduflación, turistificación and woke.

The FundéuRAE argued on its official site that, in addition to the reason stated above, there was also “its linguistic interest and the doubts that its spelling still generates in speakers.”

In its statement, the Foundation itself specifies that Dana had already been one of its candidates for word of the year in 2019, but did not win the award.

These professors add that the intensity and frequency with which such a meteorological phenomenon is repeated, multiplied by the media, had repositioned the noun.

However, on this side of the world, where a good part of the 500 million native Spanish speakers are concentrated, even though there was still a commotion and solidarity with those affected by the Dana of October, does not seem to have been the most used word in 2024.

In the particular case of Cuba, it would be very interesting if entities such as the Cuban Academy of Language or the Institute of Literature and Linguistics would enlighten us on what our words of the year could be.

It happens that the so-called words of the year indicate, as a trend, the most transcendent realities experienced by those speakers.

Thus, since there’s no official voice that pronounces on this and only appealing to elementary tools, without scientific analysis and above all from experience, perhaps it could be ventured that among the words of the year in Cuba are: Blackout, MSME, prices, chicken, hurricane, transfer, banking, queue and resolve.

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff