Skip to main content

How The Oxford English Dictionary Words Are Chosen

How The Oxford English Dictionary Words Are Chosen - Each edition builds upon the epic and magisterial first edition, which was eventually published in 1928, though it had been worked upon since 1857.

Now, like then, the editors rely heavily upon a large team of unpaid volunteers, who send in on either slips of paper – the traditional method, still used by some – or email examples of what they think are new words.

Newspapers, specialist periodicals, manuals, novels and a whole host of publications are scoured. Now, less obvious language sources, such as television scripts, cookbooks and song lyrics are used as possible sources.

The OED, unlike other dictionaries, is marked by its fairly conservative decisions about which words make it into its pages; slang or "buzzwords" that appear frequently but – over a short period – in popular culture often don't make the cut.

"Staycation", for instance, the portmanteau term coined by travel companies during the recession to describe holidays taken in Britain, has not so far made it into the online version of the OED, even though rival publications have acknowledged the word.

John Simpson, the chief editor, said: "We're looking for a range of evidence over a period of time, often as long as ten years. Appearing many times in just one newspaper would not probably count.

"We're looking for evidence of widespread currency."

How The Oxford English Dictionary Words Are Chosen
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Farm dogs maul Irish Tourist

Farm dogs maul Irish Tourist - An Irish tourist who was mauled to death by two dogs while visiting an organic farm in Penang yesterday morning had more than 50 bite wounds and lacerations all over his body. Penang Hospital Forensic Department head Datuk Dr Bhupinder Singh, who performed the post-mortem on Maurice Sullivan (pix), 50, today, said he found the wounds on the victim's head, neck, hands and legs. "The victim had died as a result of severe haemorrhage due to multiple injuries from the dogs' bites," he said, adding that there were no signs that Sullivan suffered any ailment at the time of death. Farm dogs maul Irish Tourist Bhupinder also said both Sullivan's ears and the left side of his face were gnawed off in the incident. One of the ears was recovered from the scene. Bhupinder told reporters this after carrying out the post-mortem which began at 10am. Sullivan was attacked by two mongrels at the farm while taking photographs of the gr...
6 comments
Read more

Man Hits Teen on Plane Over iPhone

Man Hits Teen on Plane Over iPhone - Police say a man on a Southwest Airlines flight from Las Vegas punched a teenager who refused to turn off his iPhone as the plane approached the Boise airport. Officers arrested 68-year-old Russell E. Miller, of Boise, on suspicion of misdemeanor battery Tuesday. He has been released from jail on bond. Witnesses told police the 15-year-old was playing games and listening to music on his cell phone when flight attendants instructed passengers to turn off their electronic devices because the plane was landing. Witnesses told police that when the teen didn't respond, Miller got angry and punched the boy in the arm. Miller says he "tapped" the teen on the shoulder after he refused to turn off the phone. He told the Idaho Statesman that he may have "overreacted," but that he did not punch the teen. Man Hits Teen on Plane Over iPhone
5 comments
Read more

Contactless Debit Cards

Contactless Debit Cards - Contactless debit cards will make their formal debut in Canada next year with the launch of Interac Flash from Acxsys Corp.’s Interac Association, Canada’s national debit network. Interac’s first two Flash issuers are Scotiabank and RBC Royal Bank, which will roll out their first contactless cards next summer. The first acquirer is TD Merchant Services, a unit of Toronto-Dominion Bank. More issuers and acquirers are on the way, an Interac spokesperson tells Digital Transactions News, though no announcements have been made yet. Interac and the banks tested Flash this summer at some high-volume, small-ticket merchants in downtown Toronto. The spokesperson expects national merchants will be making formal announcements about acceptance. “There’s a lot of excitement in the merchant community,” she says. “Merchants are looking for that faster throughput.” In a statement, the Retail Council of Canada endorsed the new card. “Interac Flash is a welcome and needed ...
Post a Comment
Read more