The Oxford English Dictionary (OED), on Thursday, added
twerk, carnap, FLOTUS and scores of other new entries, including many
introduced from Asia and from online slang, to its latest edition. OED Editor,
Danica Salazar, said in London that the word twerk, a dance popularised by
music stars and Internet memes, actually dated back about 200 years as a
combination of twist and jerk first spelled as “twirk.’’
He said the use of twerk to describe a type of dance, which
emphasises the performer’s posterior, has its roots in the early 1990s in the
New Orleans ‘bounce’ music scene. Salazar said the word itself seems to
originate from more than 170 years before that.
“Joining twerk in the updated online OED is the acronym
FLOTUS, or First Lady of the U.S. “A term that the First Lady, Michelle Obama,
felt obliged to explain to London schoolgirls last week when she mentioned her
FLOTUS Twitter handle,’’ he said. The editor said Philippine word carnap,
meaning to “kidnap,” or steal, a car, originated in the mid-20th century in the
U.S. but was no longer used there.
He said another word from the Philippines was
presidentiable, “a person who is a likely or confirmed candidate for
president.” Salazar said throughout the years, Filipino English speakers have
been adapting the vocabulary of this once foreign tongue, using it to express
their own identity and way of life.
“Many additions refer to “specific elements of Philippine culture,
such as greetings and terms of address. “The boundless optimism of Filipinos
and their unshakeable belief that things will work out in their favour in the
end is reflected in the phrase bahala na.”
Salazar said several other new entries are from South Asia
and South-east Asia, where several hundred million people use
English as a first or second language. Katherine Martin, the
OED’s Head of U.S. dictionaries said the term “Batchmate’’ a member of the same
graduation class as another, was used in both Philippine and South Asian
English.
She noted that among the latest words popularised via the
internet are crowdfunding, Internaut, webisode and photobomb.
Martin said some words and phrases are so well-used that
their inclusion in the list of new entries was perhaps surprising. She
identified them as dartboard, tan line, young gun, South Korean, North Korean,
Special Olympics, and self-immolate.
