Language Comes into the Future

The Oxford English Dictionary is progressing towards a third edition with over 619,000 words compiled between its binding. To compile a dictionary of nearly every word in the English language was an endeavor typical of Victorian times. This mammoth-sized task resulted in the first installment emerging in 1884 with its contents “A to Ant.”

The trusty dictionary now has a new chief editor, Michael Proffitt, who assumes the responsibility of retaining the vaunted traditions while ensuring relevance in an era of Googled definitions and text talk. This very interesting topic was brought to us by The New York Times and their article, “Language by the Book, but the Book Is Evolving.”

In a recent interview with the new chief editor, he shared that he believes a dictionary’s time has come, despite many people’s view that it is no longer needed with technology, real-time communication, and social media. He defended that statement with another, “People need filters much more than they did in the past.”

Truer words have never been spoken, or tweeted, or texted, or…

Melody K. Smith

Sponsored by Data Harmony, a unit of Access Innovations, the world leader in indexing and making content findable.