Duolingo Announces The ‘Most 2022’ Phrase With Free Owl Poop To End A Sh*t Year
Images via 222921352 © Caio Acquesta | Dreamstime.com and Duolingo
Pessimists (or realists) might say that this year has been quite the s**tshow, and language experts concur. Both the Merriam-Webster and Oxford dictionaries have each chosen a not-so-favorable Word of the Year to spell what 2022 has been like for many.
Language learning app Duolingo has stretched this dread out into a full phrase, inspired by the record number of flight cancellations, rising travel costs, persistent coughing fits, and natural disasters in vacation destinations.
The “Most 2022 Phrase,” as defined by the bird app, is “please don’t cancel my plans.” That’s it. That’s the tweet. And reading it is enough to elicit a tinge of sadness.
The downcast phrase was lifted from Duolingo’s English for Spanish course, says the company.
Duo, the platform’s highly expressive owl mascot, is usually the beak…on of positive learning. But even he can’t wrap this year up with his bright green wings and top it off with a nice bow. As his gift to close off 2022, Duo is churning out piles of “owl poop” to fans on social media.
Here’s a bird turd. After all, they say bird poop is good luck.
— Duolingo (@duolingo) December 6, 2022
In honor of canceled flights, sudden coughs, and surging prices, let's chant Duolingo’s Most 2022 Phrase: “Please don’t cancel my plans.”
Use this bird poop wisely. I can only make so much.#duolingo365 pic.twitter.com/Fkak9wHaQh
“Here’s a bird turd. After all they say bird poop is good luck,” writes the Duolingo Twitter account. “Use this bird poop wisely. I can only make so much.”
To be eligible for the giveaway:
— Duolingo (@duolingo) December 6, 2022
💩 Follow us (@Duolingo) on Twitter
💩 RT the tweet above of Duo's dump
💩 Fill out the link in bio just ONCE. pic.twitter.com/AmOoU8aZhk
Don’t worry; cartoon owl dung doesn’t stink. It’s practically slime.
All told, we can’t discount the fact that 2022 has its positive highlights. Along with its yearly roundup, Duolingo has published its third annual global language report, and in it, it says more than 1.3 million learners have started picking up Ukrainian to offer support to Ukrainian friends amid Russia’s invasion.
"The global response to the war was united,” describes Duolingo. “Countries receiving the largest numbers of Ukrainian refugees saw substantial growth.”
The most-studied languages around the world are English (with earnest learners in 119 countries), Spanish (the most-studied language in 34 countries), and Korean (the most-studied in four countries).
While the app acknowledges that fewer people decided to study a new language for travel purposes in 2022—citing a preference to travel to nearer regions—it foresees this changing in the year ahead.
In fact, Duolingo is expecting 2023 to be the “Year of the Confident Traveler,” following an independent study revealing that 45% of Americans intend to learn a country’s language before traveling. The report adds that 38% of Americans agree it’s important to understand essential phrases of a country’s language to navigate their destination with confidence.
[via CNET and The Wall Street Journal, images via various sources]
