Berlin, 15 January 2024 (dpa/MIA) — A group of German linguists has declared "remigration" the German language's "Unword of the Year" for 2023, a critical award that highlights German terms deemed problematic.

The term has gained usage by far-right extremists as a euphemism for forced expulsion and mass deportations, the jury announced on Monday.

Linguists and other academics make up the jury that selects the annual "Unword of the Year," a designation often widely covered in German media.

The term "remigration" has been in the news in recent days after the investigative media outlet Correctiv reported that prominent far-right extremists had met in a Potsdam villa with leaders from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as well as some politicians from the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU).

The former head of the far-right extremist Identitarian movement in Austria, Martin Sellner, confirmed to dpa that he had spoken at the meeting about "remigration."

When right-wing extremists use the term "remigration," they usually mean that a large number of people of foreign origin - as well as the descendants of immigrants - should be forced to leave the country.

The "Unword of the Year" jury criticized the use of the word because in the past year it has been used as a "right-wing fighting term, euphemistic camouflage vocabulary and an expression that obscures the actual intentions."

Words that the critics determine are euphemistic, obfuscatory, misleading or discriminate against social groups are eligible for the designation.

The 2022 award went to the term "Klimaterrorist" (climate terrorist), a term used by some politicians to describe radical climate protesters such as the Last Generation activist group.