Dear Isabelle Kerr,

 

Being part of the generation responsible  for these slang terms, I am happy that the words “Twerking,” “Selfie” and “Unlike” have been added to the Online Oxford Dictionaries. This is because these words are a product of the evolution of society and acceptance of new ideas and concepts.

 

I disagree with most of the points you have made in your article because I don’t  believe they are a fair refreflection of what is happening at the moment. You said “The future of the English language looks bleak.” I strongly  disagree  with this statement  because I believe the future of the English language is to be filled with many new words, much like selfie and twerking, that show our generation in a new light. The points made in your article are biased and negative  because you didn’t take into consideration any of the positive aspects of this situation. You didn’t  think about our generation  showing  that there is power in numbers and that the dictionary publishers think highly of these words and believe they’re of high enough status to go into their dictionary. It also shows  that our generation  have found new ways to express themselves, and have been able to globalise them. This also proves our generation is as innovative as the previous generations, but is more powerful  and has more authority than the previous generations.

The dictionary publishers themselves  obviously think the status of these words justify their place in the most prestigious dictionary in the country. They believe that a great part of the English  language  comes from the youth  and that the major words produced by the youth deserve to be in the dictionary.You also had an issue with the new additions to the dictionary being  “Mostly related to image, reputation  and sex.” In my opinion these new additions are related  to image but I don’t  see it as a bad thing. A selfie is your image and is an innovative way to express yourself  and clearly people  enjoy it as it’s  become an international trend. In addition, as trends change, technology has to adapt to suit the trends.  For example, the inclusion of a front camera on most smartphones made for selfies. It’s not as if it’s only young people and technology that are adapting to new trends. The older generations are also on social networks and may feel obliged  to join in the taking of selfies and  some do so happily and frequently.

 

You also said the “wrong impression” is given out and I don’t  think it is. I understand why twerking  can be seen as a negative thing but others, especially  those who do it would disagree. One thing I agree with is that these words are a “fashion trend” but at the same time are more than that. They can be described as a phenomena that are yet to achieve their  full potential. These words won’t  just come and go like other trends because these words  are used internationally used and have greatly affected people’s lives. For example, there  are people  that make a living from twerking and in fact a woman called Jessica Vanessa makes a 6 figure salary from it. I also believe the new additions  make the dictionary more interesting because  there are no other words like them. They give the dictionary  more variation and people a wider range of vocabulary to use.

In conclusion I believe that the inclusion  of the words “Twerking,” “Selfie” and “Unlike” to the Oxford Online  Dictionaries just prove  that our generation are strong and influential and that this is only the beginning  of something bigger. This generation are able to express  themselves in many ways and will continue  to do so and have global effect. The world and the people in it are changing and the English language  has to adapt to the the new trends arising. The future of the English  language looks bright and I hope it continues to grow in the way it has been. 

Yours truthfully Andre.