Outing my language
Oxford University Press has removed words from its Junior Dictionary and replaced them with words like "blog", "broadband" and "celebrity".
The publisher claims the changes have been made to reflect the fact that Britain is a modern, multicultural, multifaith society.
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
I'm with the outed words everytime.
Comments
Since when is it more important for children to define 'idiom' instead of 'poppy' or 'decade'?
No doubt some religious group finds poppies offensive.
Posted by: Letters From A Tory | December 8, 2008 9:48 AM
Frigging PC.
Posted by: jameshigham | December 8, 2008 4:00 PM
O'Brien (1984) would be proud.
More rope, please.
Posted by: Kim du Toit | December 8, 2008 4:48 PM
Please tell me the monarch has encouraged a corgi from her pack to take a chunk out of the corporate (corporal?) ass so they will be less able to "bring home the bacon" and perhaps even serve/do "porridge?"
Posted by: teqjack | December 8, 2008 10:02 PM
They *have* added "common sense" - sadly only in a literal fashion.
Posted by: IAF | December 9, 2008 9:10 AM