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[caramac]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14588727

Woot! Technology-inspired words are among the 400 added to the newest Concise Oxford English Dictionary.

They include retweet - to pass on a message on Twitter, and textspeak - a language that typically young people use to talk lyk dis.

Other words such as cyberbullying and sexting also make their debut.

"These additions are just carrying on the tradition of a dictionary that has always sought to be progressive," said OED editor Angus Stevenson.

"Social networking sites have created a real language of the net," he explained in a blog post.

"We've noticed that new words come into currency much more quickly as a result of the internet, as people see friends, or friends of friends using new words and copy them."

He said that words like woot or w00t - an exclamation of triumph and success - can originate abroad but rapidly gain mass usage across the rest of the English-speaking world.

"The expression 'woot' began in America but was picked up very quickly by people in Britain, as a result of the internet breaking down international boundaries," said Mr Stevenson.
New speak

Launched in 1911, the Concise Oxford English Dictionary was intended to be an evolving, modern catalogue of words.

Its first edition, which is 100 years old this month, included popular slang terms such as shirty, parky and piffle.

Emerging technology has always been a big driver for new words. The 1911 edition included biplane - a aeroplane with two sets of wings, and marconigram - a message sent via radio.

Other pre-existing words have had their meanings shaped by popular tech culture.


In the most recent edition, follower has been amended to also mean "someone who is tracking a particular person, group, etc. on a social networking site".

Meanwhile, friend has been redefined by the Facebook generation to simply mean someone you regularly interact with online.

Senior editor of the dictionary, Fiona McPherson said that it was important to make sure new words have entered common usage.

"First and foremost it's about the evidence. So as long as people are using it and we can find independent examples."

She explained that independent could mean appearances in newspapers and books.

"Some words are flash in the pan, but you can normally gauge by using your own judgement whether or not something is going to have a life," added Ms McPherson.

Despite the embracing of new, hip words and phrases, the editors of the dictionary openly admit they are not always enthusiastic users of the new lexicon.

"I don't know why people can't just say hurrah but maybe I'm being old fashioned," said Mr Stevenson.

hurrah

 

[genjiZERO]

do people really say "woot" anymore? Seems to have died off to me. Anyway, I have no problem keeping track of colloquialisms as long as they remain classified as such )until they really become universal).

 

[jon bones]

no one says woot

 

[PhatSaqs]

I say woot.....in text.....

 

[bubnbob]

woot has definitely overstayed its welcome.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Oxford, where language goes to die.

 

[Meadows]

Lol, the word "shirty" is the best fucking word ever.

[ScouseMeadows]

"You gettin' fuckin' shirty with me lad? I'll fuckin' twat your fuckin' head off"

[/ScouseMeadows]

 

[itwasTuesday]

\o/ woot.

as in: Shirt.Woot has a charlie brown t-shirt today.

 

[jediyoshi]

woop has turned into my new woot.

 

[caramac]

Lol, the word "shirty" is the best fucking word ever.

[ScouseMeadows]

"Youse gettin' fuckin' sherty wit me la? I'll fuckin' twat yer fuckin' head off"

[/ScouseMeadows]

fixed.

 

[Angry Fork]

Oxford, where language goes to die.

lol this. I remember when 'bootylicious' made it in.

It appears these people don't know a lot of these words are just fads/meme's and aren't really words that stay for the long haul. Retweet might though.

 

[Deleted member 81567]

Ah I remember woot.. when I was 12.

 

[Jme]

Hey look, another year where Oxford Dictionary makes a mockery of itself. A round of applause.

 

[BGBW]

My family bought a Collins dictionary once. You could say We Owned the Other Team

 

[Magnus]

Hey look, another year where Oxford Dictionary makes a mockery of itself. A round of applause.

Why a mockery? Language changes and grows. If a new word gains enough widespread usage, it becomes part of the language.

 

[dakkumauji]

All I think about with woot, is shirt.woot and wootoffs.

 

[Otheradam]

Wasn't woot their word of the year once? Yeah... Don't know why they think internet buzz words should be entered, since pretty much no one uses the word 'woot' in any way anymore.

 

[Thomper]

Hey look, another year where Oxford Dictionary makes a mockery of itself. A round of applause.

Why? Dictionaries are for looking up words. Retweet and maybe to a lesser extent woot are words that are used frequently these days. Thus, they deserve a place in the dictionary. I'm sure there's thousands of words that are used far less frequently than these two, but should they be allowed in just because they came into existence a 100 years ago? It's not like we can suddenly no longer accept new words.

 

[Parallax Scroll]

they spelled w00t wrong

 

[Meadows]

fixed.

I didn't even attempt to romanise Scouse. Impossible mate.

 

[Jme]

Why a mockery? Language changes and grows. If a new word gains enough widespread usage, it becomes part of the language.

Retweet will not be a mainstay in language. It's a term used for a website that won't be usable in 20 years. You really think 20+ years from now, if I said "I just retweeted that", it would hold any kind of relevance?

Yes, I know the english language is full of outmoded words but even the concept of 'retweeting' something has an expiration date. Technologies come and go. Twitter does not have the staying power of email, it will be replaced just like myspace was replaced with facebook, etc.

 

[Naked Snake]

welp...

 

[Borgnine]

Both seem cromulent enough to me.

 

[so1337]

I've never heard of this word "woot" that you speak of.

I'm going to have to bing it.

 

[ConfusingJazz]

Hey look, another year where Oxford Dictionary makes a mockery of itself. A round of applause.

The OED makes not of all words in the English language. Its comprehensive, even about slang.

 

[Shiggie]

I'm going to have to bing it.

Oh God, that just does not sound right at all. lol