'Vaginal corona' makes 2009 word list

The Swedish Language Council's (Språkrådet) has added slidkrans (vaginal corona) to its list of official Swedish words following successful lobbying by a sexual rights group. In total, the council added 30 new words to its linguistic roster.

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The Swedish Association for Sexuality Education (Riksförbundet för sexuell upplysning – RFSU) petitioned the Language Council to include the word slidkrans (vaginal corona), with which it would like to replace mödomshinna (hymen).

“I am both happy and proud. Words affect how we think and it therefore felt important to replace the old and antiquated expression 'hymen',” RFSU general secretary Åsa Regnér said in a statement.

Earlier this year, RFSU published an informational pamphlet on the female reproductive organs which featured the new Swedish term for the hymen, slidkrans.

“Krans is a Swedish word for something shaped like a circle,” Regnér told The Local at the time.

The group hoped the new term would displace mödomshinna, which translates literally as “virginity membrane” and led to misconceptions about female sexuality, according to RFSU.

The top Swedish headline of 2009 has also added to new terms to the Swedish vocabulary: svininfluensa (swine flu) itself and sprita, referring to the increased use of hand sanitizer.

In total, the language council at the Swedish Institute of Language and Folklore (Institutet för språk och folkminnen – SOFI) added 30 new words to the Swedish language.

In alphabetical order, the first word on the list is “chefsnappning” – which comes from “bossnapping,” an anglo-inspired expression used in France to describe employees locking their boss in his or her office as a collective bargaining tool.

Among the more distasteful words was fiskpedikyr (fish pedicure), referring to the practice of allowing carp to nibble away dead skin on one's toes (a beauty procedure outlawed in several US states due to its “unsanitary nature.”)

Fuldeling, a playful way to describe illegal file-sharing (olaglig fildelning), is also included and can be compared to the expressions fulsprit and fulöl (illegal alcohol and beer).

Grindstad means gated community, referring to the wealthy residential areas that are common in the United States and England.

Könskonträr (gender bender), literally translated as "gender contrary", is someone or something that is the direct opposite of characteristics usually associated with a particular gender, such as a woman who takes a man's name.

The entire list (in Swedish) is available here.