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The power of popular culture: 'unfriend' officially enters the American language
Did you even know that there was a New Oxford American Dictionary? I didn't. But with their recent addition of 'unfriend' to the American language, that might soon change. Maybe this was their way of leaving the realm of obscurity... and into hilarity!"It has both currency and potential longevity," says Christine Lindberg, Senior Lexicographer for Oxford's US dictionary program. She goes on to add that it has real 'lex-appeal'. Quite. I get the nagging feeling that the senior lexicographer for the NOAD might be short and blonde and very American. Here in England, new words don't enter the language without ratification by a round-table of 12 bearded and wizened lexicographic geriatrics.
There's quite a long list of runners-up. Amongst others: hashtag (always thought this was a bit ambiguous... but perhaps that's my drug-dealing background...), sexting (don't make me explain this one), zombie bank (sadly not a L4D reference), deleb (a dead celebrity apparently). A complete list is available on the Oxford University Press blog, if you want a bit of a giggle.
I wonder why they opted for 'unfriend' rather than 'defriend'. Or maybe defriend is British-English, and unfriend is 'Merkin-English...
What other words do you think we can expect to see in the New Oxford American Dictionary in the coming years? Retweet? Bloggable? ('Weblog' is already in the NOAD!)
Comments
11
Subscribe to commentssitrucNov 19th 2009 9:52AM
I'm surprised you aren't going on and on about "tramp stamp" as posters on el Reg did. I was just surprised that took so long when forgotten words like birther and teabagger are going in. Teabagger is going in for the political meaning....
Sebastian AnthonyNov 19th 2009 1:08PM
Yeah, I read about the teabagger/teabagging thing...
I had NO idea it had a political definition...
BradleyNov 19th 2009 1:08PM
'Merkin-English? pubic wig English? I think you meant 'Merican-English.
Sebastian AnthonyNov 19th 2009 1:08PM
It was an intentional mistake... :)
musicmanczNov 19th 2009 4:24PM
'Unlike' definately has to be next
Sebastian AnthonyNov 19th 2009 4:39PM
You know, I almost suggested that... until I realised that 'unlike' is already word... :P
Muffin_manNov 19th 2009 5:52PM
Is Google a word as in a verb, to "google it". They already have names of products as nouns for the device itself eg Hoover instead of vacume cleaner.
KarlWNov 20th 2009 12:59AM
It's in the OED. It arrived along with 'iPod' and 'Blairite' a few years back.
Unlike other european languages (French, German..etc), there is no body that governs the English language. What people say is categorically correct.
Sebastian AnthonyNov 20th 2009 11:33AM
Ooh, considering your email address... I like to think you might be a bit of an authority on the matter...!
AlmostnakedapeNov 19th 2009 8:51PM
Incidentally, were you aware what a Merkin is when you used the phrase 'Merkin-English?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkin
Sebastian AnthonyNov 19th 2009 9:04PM
Ya, it's a term I often use to describe Americans on my own personal blog.
I like double entendres...!