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February 6, 2023

Words are all I have…

Words are all I have…

by Catherine Bell / Sunday, 24 November 2013 / Published in Blog

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 I appreciate that not all words stand the test of time, and some do get outdated, and lose their frequency of usage.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.

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