Bah. I have made an irritating discovery; the word “Selfie” has been added to the Oxford English Dictionary, amongst several, in my opinion undeserving, others.
Now I am all for the expansion of our linguistic repertoire, but… ridiculous slang terms which will surely have a very short life span do not deserve to be included here?
A prime example: “You’re going to make me vom.”
Yes, “Vom” has also been included. I appreciate that not all words stand the test of time, and some do get outdated, and lose their frequency of usage.
(I do wonder as a result whether words are removed from the dictionary when their usage becomes too infrequent…my guess is no.)
But words that are just a flash in the pan, such as “vom” “selfie” “twerk” and “derp” I mean… really?! If anyone knows what “twerk” or “derp” mean by this time next year, (okay- at a push the year after) I’ll be shocked.
… Just imagine looking up “derp” in the dictionary… good God.
Right, so according to research (http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/how-do-you-decide-whether-a-new-word-should-be-included-in-an-oxford-dictionary ) it appears that some of the considerations to determine whether to add a new word include:
– The usage of the term over a variety of different sources
– Those considered to have a significance/ importance
– Those deemed likely to stand the test of time (“Retweeting” is going to last as long as Twitter does… and, like MSN, Myspace, and alas, Facebook too, will have a limited lifespan…so I’m definitely not on board with this!)
And just for reference, please find the definitions below! *Shudders*
selfie, n. (informal): a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website
derp, exclam. & n. (informal): (used as a substitute for) speech regarded as meaningless or stupid, or to comment on a foolish or stupid action.
twerk, v.: dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance.
vom, v. & n. (informal): (be) sick; vomit.
