Want a chance to help shape the English language? Well, Twitter Inc. (NYSE:TWTR) is offering its users the chance to vote on which new word should be included in the latest edition of the Collins English Dictionary. Lexicographers at the popular dictionary spent months sifting through Tweets to identify popular new words, and from that have drawn up a shortlist. Twitter followers are now being asked to vote for their favorite one simply by hash tagging the word.
The list includes words such as ‘Duckface’ referring to the pouting expression in a selfie, ‘Fracktivist’ a person protesting against fracking for oil and gas, and ‘Gaybourhood’ meaning a gay friendly neighborhood. The chosen word will join the other 4.5 billion words in the Collins dictionary. Until recently, new words were selected by their use in print in the UK, and around the world. With the growth of social media, Collins is adapting their approach to embrace the new ways that people communicate.
The deadline for the voting is on May 28th. The word will then be included in the dictionary which is due out in October 2014. According to Ian Brookes, a lexicographers and consultant editor to Collins, the words on the short list are referred to as ‘bubbling under’. This means they are used often but not frequently enough to normally be included in the dictionary. When Collins looked at Twitter comments however, they found that many of these words were in frequent use in social media, rather than traditional print formats. According to the Collins website, the word leading the vote is ‘Adorkable’ which means someone who is adorable and a dork at the same time.
