Merriam-Webster releases list of new words to be included in dictionary Thread poster: Roland Lelaj
| Roland Lelaj Canada Local time: 21:21 Member (2008) English to Albanian + ...
Ed Pilkington in New York, guardian.co.uk, Thursday 9 July 2009 The irresistible power of the digital revolution to transform everything in its path has been confirmed, lest anyone still doubts it, by one of the arbitors of the English language itself. Merriam-Webster, the revered publishing house known for its texts on American English, released today a sample of more than 100 new words it has granted entry into its Collegiate dictionary this year. Fully a fifth of th... See more Ed Pilkington in New York, guardian.co.uk, Thursday 9 July 2009 The irresistible power of the digital revolution to transform everything in its path has been confirmed, lest anyone still doubts it, by one of the arbitors of the English language itself. Merriam-Webster, the revered publishing house known for its texts on American English, released today a sample of more than 100 new words it has granted entry into its Collegiate dictionary this year. Fully a fifth of them relate to technological innovation. "Vlog" makes its debut, defined as a blog containing video material, as does "webisode", that is a TV show that can be viewed through a website. Some old expressions have finally made it into Webster years after they were coined, courtesy of renewed digital interest. So "fan fiction" is traceable back to 1944 but the writing of stories by fans involving popular fictional characters has boomed through posts on the web. Likewise, the use of "sock puppet" to describe a false identity used for deceptive purposes originated in 1959, but its proliferation on the internet has given it new life. And "flash mobs" (1987) - crowds that descend on a designated location to perform an event have now become so common thanks to email and text message, that the phrase has now earned its place in the dictionary. Merriam-Webster, a Massachusetts company, has produced dictionaries dating back Noah Webster's 1828 An American Dictionary of the English Language. Given the global spread of the American form of English, the influence of the Webster's dictionary over the evolution of the language is arguably even greater than that of the Oxford English Dictionary. Webster himself was a great believer in keeping things simple, and it was his idea to "Americanise" many of the spellings that now distinguish the American and English forms of the language. He dropped the "u" from colour and favour and turned centre into center. That unashamed Americanisation is evident in this year's new words, which will have traditionalists squirming. They include "staycation" for a holiday spent at home and "frenemy" for one who pretends to be a friend but is in fact an enemy. The green revolution also makes a strong showing, with "locavore" for a person who eats only locally-grown food; carbon footprint as a measure of one's carbon emmissions; and green-collar, referring to jobs designed to help the environment. Other newcomers Acai The small, dark purple, berrylike fruit found in central and south America has been known by this word since 1868 but its place in the dictionary has been forced by a recent fad that claims it is an aid to dieting Goji A big year for berries all round, with the dark red mildly tart bruit of a mainly Asian shrub making its entry thanks to its new popularity as a flavour in drinks Haram Items, usually foods, forbidden under Islamic law Memory foam Another recent fad, this time for a mattress that supposedly remembers the shape of your back Neuroprotective One of several new words relating to health and medicine, it refers to drugs that protect neurons from injury or degeneration Reggaeton Another fusion word, in this case relating to the union of rap and Caribbean rhythms in popular Puerto Rican music ▲ Collapse | | | Rod Walters Japan Local time: 10:21 Japanese to English
I thought "memory foam" was just another of the undocumented behaviours of the new Trados release... I've been flavouring my own drinks with homegrown 'goji' recently, but I prefer the non-marketing name 'wolfberry'. | | |
I didn't know that flash mob dated back to 1987. I thought it was one of those newcomers, since the term was submitted by the Glossary Building Team at KudoZ last year. | | | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Merriam-Webster releases list of new words to be included in dictionary Wordfast Pro | Translation Memory Software for Any Platform
Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users!
Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value
Buy now! » |
| TM-Town | Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business
Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |