Dictionary editors turn to Bebo for new words

by: Garry Pierrepont (13 February 2009)

The thirtieth anniversary edition of the Collins dictionary is to see words from current teenage slang such as "piff", "co-dee" and "bare" included, as editors have researched the latest terms on Bebo, the social networking website.

Publishers HarperCollins decided it would be a piff (good) idea to consult teenagers and their co-dees (friends) for a list of new words to be included in the tome.

The publishers looked for words used bare (a lot), but will hope that other dictionary publishers will not mug (ridicule) them for trying to be seen (cool).

Although some words will be new to the older generation, some still rung true, such as: cool, bruv (mate), grim (disgusting), naff (embarrassing).

A panel of Bebo users came up with a list of 24 words for consideration for the next edition of the dictionary. Of the 24, ten words will be submitted by Bebo to HarperCollins. The editors of the dictionary will do further research to decide whether the words should be included.

Cormac McKeown, head of Content at Collins said: "Teenage slang is notoriously hard to pin down if you rely on normal channels. The findings from Bebo will give us a chance to keep track of an exciting part of our language that usually goes unrecorded."

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