Since 1991 a jury has chosen the Unwort des Jahres, the non-word of the year. Horst Dieter Schlosser started it. Until 1994 the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache, the Society for the German Language, made the choice. Today an independent jury of volunteers in Marburg decides. Its permanent members are four linguists and a journalist, and each year a guest member joins them. Anyone can send in a proposal. Among other things, the jury looks for words that are beschönigend, verschleiernd oder irreführend, glossing over, concealing or misleading. On 13 January 2026 it chose Sondervermögen, special assets, for the year 2025. The jury said that the word hides its real meaning, which is taking on debt.