What's this all about? Click here for an English explanation.

Do words go to vocabulary heaven when they die? A Berlin author is out to find the most beautiful "endangered" word in the German language -- and to save other dying words from a morbid fate.

New words enter the German language every day. Many of them are borrowed from English, like "Blockbuster" and "Brunch." Others -- like "cool" and its more German-sounding equivalent "geil" -- belong to an ever changing youth culture.

Omissions are just as common as additions. Some words simply fall into the black hole of disuse. Some are forgotten because they no longer apply to modern life. Still others are eventually rejected for sounding old-fashioned or out-of-date.
[...]