No More Marzipan?
During a recent staff meeting, MHC staff discussed how the Oxford Junior Dictionary is removing words pertaining to religion, monarchy, and so-called British history to replace them with more modern language (a limited number of pages being the impetus). A small outcry ensued as everyone read through the list and came upon words that had a special meaning. “Coronation,” “empire,” and “decade” represent some of the monarchist words, while “sin,” “saint,” and “devil” are among the religious ones. But it was words like “beaver,” “cheetah,” “porcupine,” and “newt” that were more upsetting, and especially “corgi” (Toby, the office dog, is such a one). “Acorn,” “blackberry,” “cowslip,” and “sycamore” were others that garnered groans of dismay. We supposed this list to be representative of British history. The replacements included “blog,” “attachment,” “cut and paste,” vandalism,” “dyslexic,” and “colloquial.” “Negotiate,” too, is an interesting and necessary addition.
Note that the Oxford Junior Dictionary is meant to serve as a relatively small volume, and its contents are based on the frequency of use in contemporary children’s literature and school curricula. While Oxford University Press clearly has its good reasons for the changes, we found our own responses interesting.
Linked is the Daily Telegraph article we shared at our meeting, and pasted below is the complete list of removals and additions. I am curious to hear reactions. Please comment with your thoughts, reasons for or against word removals or additions.
FROM TELEGRAPH.CO.UK
Words taken out:
Carol, cracker, holly, ivy, mistletoe
Dwarf, elf, goblin
Abbey, aisle, altar, bishop, chapel, christen, disciple, minister, monastery, monk, nun, nunnery, parish, pew, psalm, pulpit, saint, sin, devil, vicar
Coronation, duchess, duke, emperor, empire, monarch, decade
adder, ass, beaver, boar, budgerigar, bullock, cheetah, colt, corgi, cygnet, doe, drake, ferret, gerbil, goldfish, guinea pig, hamster, heron, herring, kingfisher, lark, leopard, lobster, magpie, minnow, mussel, newt, otter, ox, oyster, panther, pelican, piglet, plaice, poodle, porcupine, porpoise, raven, spaniel, starling, stoat, stork, terrapin, thrush, weasel, wren.
Acorn, allotment, almond, apricot, ash, bacon, beech, beetroot, blackberry, blacksmith, bloom, bluebell, bramble, bran, bray, bridle, brook, buttercup, canary, canter, carnation, catkin, cauliflower, chestnut, clover, conker, county, cowslip, crocus, dandelion, diesel, fern, fungus, gooseberry, gorse, hazel, hazelnut, heather, holly, horse chestnut, ivy, lavender, leek, liquorice, manger, marzipan, melon, minnow, mint, nectar, nectarine, oats, pansy, parsnip, pasture, poppy, porridge, poultry, primrose, prune, radish, rhubarb, sheaf, spinach, sycamore, tulip, turnip, vine, violet, walnut, willow
Words put in:
Blog, broadband, MP3 player, voicemail, attachment, database, export, chatroom, bullet point, cut and paste, analogue
Celebrity, tolerant, vandalism, negotiate, interdependent, creep, citizenship, childhood, conflict, common sense, debate, EU, drought, brainy, boisterous, cautionary tale, bilingual, bungee jumping, committee, compulsory, cope, democratic, allergic, biodegradable, emotion, dyslexic, donate, endangered, Euro
Apparatus, food chain, incisor, square number, trapezium, alliteration, colloquial, idiom, curriculum, classify, chronological, block graph
