Dutch word of the year vote shows concern with refugees, terrorism & Volkswagen

Van Dale announced their ten nominations for Dutch word of the years. As in previous years, the nominations give quite a bit of insight of what the past year has been like. This year's nominations indicate that the Dutch population was concerned with refugees, terrorism and Volkswagen's diesel scandal.

This year's nominees, with a short explanation from the Volkskrant, are:

1. Aardbeingskamer - translates to earthquake room - a department of a court that decides on devaluation as a result of earthquakes, such as the gas earthquakes in Groningen
2. Cyberkalifaat - translates to cyber caliphate - an organization of jihadist hackers carrying out online terror attacks
3. Je suis - a slogan, such as the one used after the Paris terrorist attacks
4. Jihadgala - an event featuring a controversial imam, or so-called hate imam
5. Nepfractie - translates to fake faction - a parliamentary faction that does not function democratically
6. Poortjesspringer - translates to gate jumper - someone using public transport without a ticket that jumps over a turnstile at a train station
7. Selfiedode - translates to selfie death - someone killed in an accident while taking a selfie
8. Sjoemelsoftware - translates to tampering software - software that tampers with a device's test results, such as in the Volkswagen diesel scandal
9. Vluchtelingenhek - translates to refugee gate - a fence at a country's border to keep out refugees
10. Welkomwinkel - translates to welcome store - a store were relief supplies are collected and distributed to refugees

The public can vote for their favorite word on Van Dale's website up until 5:00 p.m. on December 14th. The winner will be announced the next day.

Last year's word of the year was "dagobertducktaks", or Scrooge McDuck tax, referring to additional tax for very rich people.