When someone asks us to describe our sibling, 'annoying' is one of the many adjectives that pop immediately into our mind. But in some cases, that is paired with 'caring' and 'understanding.' In fact, as part of this bittersweet bond, siblings naturally make up their own vocabulary. Recently, a viral "dictionary" trend surfaced on the internet, where two friends, siblings or a couple guess the weird and unique words or phrases that only the two know about. Joining in the trend, an LA-based editor named Sean Tadlock–who goes by @sean_tadlock on TikTok–made a video with his sister, Michelle Tadlock, where the duo guessed the phrases from each others' "sibling dictionary."
Image Source: TikTok | @sean_tadlock
When one sibling explained the meaning of a phrase or a word, the other sibling had to find out what it was. The Tadlock siblings were so in sync with each other that they guessed everything right and instantly. The first clue Sean gave was, "This is your favorite question to ask me if I'm being an idiot." Without a second thought, Michelle responded, "Are you stupid or are you dumb?" Whenever the siblings come across something they like, they describe it as "so good" and add another "soooo good." Sean hinted, "When you call me, this is how I usually answer the phone," and Michelle replied, "Green, green, yellow," with a sassy twist to the "yellow" part.
Image Source: TikTok | @sean_tadlock
Michelle then asked Sean about an inside joke they shared, "When there's a light draw and we're inside, what do we say?" Struggling to hold back laughter, Sean replied, "Who opened a window?" When Sean tells their sister a story about someone and has nothing else to say at the end, they often have an ending line. As the brother hinted that it was a movie line, Michelle rightly guessed, "And now I guess she's on crack." On the other hand, Sean knew exactly how their sister ended a call - she simply said, "TT, YL." And whenever Sean described someone and said, "That's so annoying," Michelle would ask, "Who is?" The duo shared a good laugh as to how quirky and hysterical their dictionary was and the internet was amused.
Nearly 7 million views came in for the video and people found it both humorous and relatable. "I'm so glad I'm not the only one still quoting, 'Who opened a window?'" said @charitygracecook. "'Green green yellow' would make me cackle or hang up. No in-between," chimed in @khariahc. "I love that there's no such thing as an inside joke anymore. Keep sharing. It's so good, so good," quipped @lana_del_louiseville.
While speaking of siblings following the social media trends, the "Hug your sibling" challenge caused quite a laugh riot. While siblings are not usually touchy-feely with each other, randomly hugging one's sibling made the person absolutely bewildered. Allie–who goes by @allieschnacky on TikTok–shared one such viral video where she went to hug her brother, which made him so scared that he tried to run away. "What are you doing? Why are you messing with me?" the brother exclaimed in shock and Allie responded, "Sibling love." Many such videos showed hilarious reactions of siblings being shocked by the unusual gesture from their brothers or sisters.
You can follow Sean Tadlock (@sean_tadlock) on TikTok for more hilarious content.
Major motion pictures are often dubbed into other languages to reach diverse audiences worldwide. Marvel's blockbuster "The Avengers" has been given a unique twist to reach an all-American audience—will soon be available in Lakota.
Ray TakenAlive, a teacher at Standing Rock and co-founder of the Lakota Language Reclamation Project (LLRP), is dedicated to revitalizing the Lakota language within the community. He emphasizes reclaiming the language within individuals, families, homes, schools, and the broader community.
He said, "We've always believed in each other and believe that we're capable of anything that anyone else does. We can do too."
To engage the youth and reintroduce the language into their homes, Ray sought an appealing method. He realized the popularity of Marvel's Avengers franchise could captivate the younger generation's interest.
"How can we make our languages appealing to the students? The idea was Marvel's Avengers, the most popular franchise in the world."
The idea gained momentum through connections made during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests. Ray and friends collaborated with Mark Ruffalo, who played The Hulk in the film. After numerous meetings with Disney and Marvel executives, a casting call was held, and scripts were translated with the help of native elders. After three revisions, they remained true to the language.
Cyril Archambault, Executive Producer, LLRP and Grey Willow Studios said, "This was a huge project for us. It's meaningful and it's not about who is playing what, but how this will help our people."
The original movie actors voiced their roles in Lakota during the Avengers Assemble scene, with Ruffalo voicing all of The Hulk's lines in Lakota.
TakenAlive added, "The behind-the-scenes videos show them practicing hard, which sets an example for our kids to see the biggest stars working on their indigenous language."
This production provided valuable training for Grey Willow Music and Productions on the Standing Rock Sioux Nation.
Jodi Archambault was the Executive Producer of the Lakota Dub of the film. She said, "This isn't just for Lakota people. It's part of the heritage that South Dakota can be proud of. Lakota language has existed here since humans were here, and it's important to keep it alive for the future."
A free red-carpet premiere for "The Avengers" in Lakota will be held at the high school in McLaughlin, Corson County Friday May 31 at 6 p.m. Mountain Time. The movie will also be shown at the Nunpa Theater in Kyle on Saturday, June 8th, and will be available on Disney Plus starting June 14th.
Related:
“Another step in the right direction”: Lakota Language Consortium release third edition of the New Lakota Dictionary
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.
The new TikTok “friend dictionary” trend is blowing up online, but what does it even mean? Continue reading for our full breakdown of the trend.
Almost every week, a new trend is formed on TikTok, these new types of videos, whether that be dances, sing-alongs, or jokes, all blowing up on the social media platform.
And while social media as a whole does at times have its own vocabulary, TikTok has taken this one step further with its new “friend dictionary” trend.
Continue reading as we explain all about this new viral content on the platform.
What is the TikTok “friend dictionary” trend?
TikTok has a strong following of users who fall into the Gen Z age range, something that the greater TikTok community has started to highlight with the new “friend dictionary” trend.
In essence, these videos are simple in design, with users asking people outside of the Gen Z age range if they know what certain expressions and phrases mean.
More often than not, the person being quizzed has no idea what any of the words mean, however, the quizzer then asks their friend or siblings who then immediately knows what the expression means. In other instances, these videos highlight the random expressions and “inside jokes” friends use with each other.
The trend has 40,000 posts under the friend dictionary tag, with some of the most popular videos amassing millions of views.
Content creator Chelsea Lefkowitz recently broke down what “friend dictionary” means in an article written by NBC, Lefkowitz stated, “I feel like it’s kind of a universal experience that most sisters or siblings or best friend duos can relate to.”
The TikToker and Instagram influencer added, “It’s kind of instinctual, especially for me and my sister. We have a shared background. It’s easy for us to develop inside jokes and references and we kind of have that unique way of communicating.”
And there you have it folks! Everything you need to know about the new “friend dictionary” trend taking over TikTok.
On May 28, 1843, Noah Webster died in New Haven, Connecticut. Webster was a teacher and lawyer, an ardent supporter of the American Revolution, and a deeply committed Christian. In 1783, hoping to separate America from its cultural dependence on Europe, he published an American spelling guide that introduced most of the differences in spelling between American English and British English, many of which still exist today. He published a dictionary in 1806, which he expanded into the first full American dictionary in 1828.
Webster’s concern to create a uniquely American identity through the proper spelling and defining of words may seem odd in our image-driven culture, but that’s because we underestimate the importance and power of words. Words both reflect and shape culture in profound ways.For example, in his 1828 dictionary,Webster defineddiscernmentas:
… also, the power or faculty of the mind, by which it distinguishes one thing from another, as truth from falsehood, virtue from vice; acuteness of judgment; power of perceiving differences of things or ideas, and their relations and tendencies.
And then, he added, “The errors of youth often proceed from the want ofdiscernment.”
In contrast, today’s onlineMeriam-Webster dictionary definesdiscernmentas “the ability to comprehend or grasp what is obscure”or as“an act of perceiving or discerning something.”Gone entirely is any sense of distinguishing between things, especially the role that moral sense plays in the process.The not-so-subtle shift reflects a cultural shift toward moral relativism.
Sometimes new meanings are merely reflected in our dictionaries. Other times, they areimposed.When they are, we get George Orwell’sNewspeak. For example, during the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Democrats claimed her use of the termsexual orientationwas offensive. It had not been considered offensive to that point but, in a blatantly political move the next day,Merriam-Webster changed the definition of the term in the dictionary to indicate that it now was offensive.
Sometimes, words change the world via new definitions, such as the forced use of masculine and feminine pronouns that are contrary to biological identity. Other times, the world is changed by new words, such as the invention of new pronouns for “non-binary” people. These are, in fact, attempts to use language as a tool to control thought. Our words can impose ideas.
Before complying with the linguistic demands of others, we’d do well to remember these words of Confucius, “When words lose their meaning, people lose their freedom.”For Noah Webster, freedom required simplifying the spelling of words so that Americans could be rid of the artificial aristocratic conventions of British English.
Today, cultural battles are most often over the definitions of words. Faithfulness to what is true will require holding on to old, criticized definitions, even in the face of attempts to impose new, artificial meanings on words. Specifically, the battle lies over the meaning of words likelove, truth, marriage, family, freedom, equality, dignity, human, evenmanandwoman,maleandfemale, motherandfather.As Confucius said, our freedom rests in whether these words lose their meaning.
Words are important, even worth fighting for. As the ever-quotableG.K. Chestertonsaid:
What is the good of words if they aren’t important enough to quarrel over? Why do we choose one word more than another if there isn’t any difference between them? If you called a woman a chimpanzee instead of an angel, wouldn’t there be a quarrel about a word? If you’re not going to argue about words, what are you going to argue about? Are you going to convey your meaning to me by moving your ears? The Church and the heresies always used to fight about words, because they are the only thing worth fighting about.
ThisBreakpointwas co-authored by Dr. Glenn Sunshine. For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, go tobreakpoint.org.
For one pair of sisters, a brisk day isn’t chilly — it’s “Chilean sea bass.” And for one couple, they don’t receive deliveries — they “got a parcel.”
These phrases may be unusual to the average person, but to some duos they are common sayings.
Best friends, siblings and couples alike are sharing their inside jokes and shared lingo on TikTok. Dubbed “friend dictionaries,” and sometimes couple or sister dictionaries, these words reveal the secret languages people have with those closest to them.
The trend features videos of duos testing each other on their slang. Each person has to guess the term the other writes down for them.
TikTok creator Chelsea Lefkowitz posted five videos with her sister Amanda Paige guessing the unique slang they share, racking up over 11 million views total.
Viewers commented which terms were their favorites, including “nosetta” for a nosy person or “projectile committed” for plans they are unable to cancel.
“I feel like it’s kind of a universal experience that most sisters or siblings or best friend duos can relate to,” Lefkowitz said. “It’s kind of instinctual, especially for me and my sister. We have a shared background. It’s easy for us to develop inside jokes and references and we kind of have that unique way of communicating.”
Nicole Holliday, assistant professor of linguistics at Pomona College, said the trend exemplifies how “any community of people that have regular interactions with each other will come up with shorthand or references to previous events.”
“It’s establishing your closeness or your role in the community,” Holliday said. “I’m in on the joke. You’re in on the joke.”
Inside jokes and slang can also evoke feelings of nostalgia.
“It’s reminding you of the previous experiences that you’ve had together, which also sort of then facilitates the closeness of the relationship,” Holliday said.
It’s establishing your closeness or your role in the community.
Nicole Holliday, assistant professor of linguistics at Pomona College
People like the trend because it reminds them of how connected they are to their loved ones, according to Holliday.
Shared jokes and language require people to “know something about each other,” she said.
Reminders of connection and closeness are also likely appealing to audiences because of the ongoing loneliness epidemic and feelings of isolation following Covid-19 lockdowns.
“It makes them feel a sense of belonging with their family or friends,” Holliday said.
Jedson Tavernier and Jade Smith, who make couples content on TikTok, made two videos participating in the trend that received a total of over 19 million views. Viewers noted that they use funny voices and accents in addition to slang, which many related to doing with their own partners.
Tavernier said the videos are relatable and humanizing, which is refreshing on social media, where audiences can often forget that creators are people too.
“These types of videos that kind of break that wall and break that barrier down, where people are like, ‘Wow, they’re literally just like us,’ are really good for everybody,” he said.
Smith said she thinks people like the trend because it shows how being silly with your loved ones is a universal experience.
“Everyone has their own shared language and I think that makes you see everyone [as] really human,” she said. “I love that about it. I just think it’s so funny to see that everyone does what we do.”
Having a sister means growing up with a lifelong best friend who's always there to chat, vent, and gossip. But it turns out that sisters share more than just wardrobes and a sense of humor, because as it turns out, they can also share their own language.
A new trend has taken social media by storm, revealing the unique and hilarious words and phrases that only sisters understand. Women young and old are taking to TikTok to share their own "sister dictionary" that no one else would possibly comprehend.
That includes Sarah Liguori, 26, from New Jersey who revealed the secret language she and her three sisters, Gabby, Katie, and Anna have created. After growing up in the same household, Liguori told Newsweek that they're all "fluent in the lingo," and it immediately puts a smile on their faces.
Examples of their sister dictionary include saying "I have a case of the uglies" when their hair or makeup doesn't go right, or Liguori's personal favorite is referring to something negative as "Les Mis."
The phrases mean nothing to anyone outside the family, but it's a special dialect just between the sisters.
Sarah Liguori with her sisters, Gabby, Katie and Anna. For Liguori, her favorite phrase in their sister dictionary is referring to something negative as "les Mis."Sarah Liguori with her sisters, Gabby, Katie and Anna. For Liguori, her favorite phrase in their sister dictionary is referring to something negative as "les Mis."@sarahligg / TikTok
Liguori said: "I think sisters are almost telepathic. You can read each other's minds because you grew up the same way and have so many shared experiences. My mom always told us that no matter what happens in life, you'll always have your sisters."
As soon as she saw this trend on TikTok, Liguori was "so excited" and she instantly went to find Gabby so they could get involved. Her TikTok (@sarahligg) video has already gained over 1.3 million views and more than 153,000 likes in just a matter of days.
"The social media reaction has been so fun," she continued. "We never thought this many people would laugh along with us, but people have been so kind. Commenters have said they love our sister dynamic and that they want a sister of their own."
What's the Secret to a Sister Dictionary?
While the trend makes for some hilarious clips on social media, linguistic expert Dr. Cindy Blanco told Newsweek that it signals a much deeper connection.
According to Blanco, senior learning scientist at Duolingo, a shared language is evidence of "shared social bonds," so siblings who have grown up together can form these associations.
"We typically think of dialects as being the way huge regions or entire countries speak, but friend groups can show mini versions of this, like their own slang words for very particular meanings and pronunciations," Blanco said.
"What we see among close friends and these words and phrases is the small-scale version of what happens with languages and dialects over time."
This isn't a new concept, as Blanco says that humans have long used shared languages to build alliances. "It's an outward sign of a significant relationship—it shows that you know something special from those who don't share or understand your lingo," Blanco said.
How To Pick the Right Words
Just like the Liguori sisters, Chelsea Lefkowitz, 25, has also developed a quirky language with her sister Amanda, 30. They have been coming up with their own words and expressions for most of their lives, as Lefkowitz jokes that they're now "instilled" into their everyday dialects.
Chelsea, 25, and Amanda Lefkowitz, 30, pictured together. The sisters have been developed their sister dictionary for their whole lives, and they've build up quite the collection in that time.Chelsea, 25, and Amanda Lefkowitz, 30, pictured together. The sisters have been developed their sister dictionary for their whole lives, and they've build up quite the collection in that time.@chellefko / @amandapaige122 / TikTok
But how do they pick which new words to add to their exclusive sisterly language?
Lefkowitz, from New York City, told Newsweek: "We shorten, lengthen, or re-phrase words that already exist. Some special words, like Nosetta (someone who's very nosy) or Zengata (when your hair is a mess/in your face) were passed down from our lovely maternal grandmother, Mema, who is the original creator.
"With a shared background, it's easy to develop inside jokes, references, and unique ways of communicating that only family members or besties can understand."
Sisters Chelsea and Amanda Lefkowitz pictured together. The sisters love their very own sister dictionary and they wouldn't trade the close relationship that they have with the world.Sisters Chelsea and Amanda Lefkowitz pictured together. The sisters love their very own sister dictionary and they wouldn't trade the close relationship that they have with the world.
Over time, the Lefkowitz sisters have added phrases like "Chilean Sea Bass" to their dictionary, meaning it's cold outside, as well as "schoffing" when referring to someone who is shoveling food down.
They love having a way of communicating that's personal and it's now become "so instinctive" to them. Lefkowitz couldn't resist adding to the trend as she shared her own TikTok (@chellefko and @amandapaige122) and she loves seeing other sisters relate. She's continued sharing a whole series of videos revealing their sister dictionary (because they have so many words in it).
"We love our sister dictionary and we're so glad others appreciate it as much as we do. Cheers to sisterhood," Lefkowitz continued.
It's a Deeper Connection Than Any Friendship
Like others, Grace Peck, 18, from Des Moines, Iowa, has loved seeing so many sisters reveal their secret language. It's made her eternally grateful to have such a close bond with her sister Millie, and they too got in on the action by posting their own TikTok video (@grace.peckk).
"I think sisters just have a deeper connection, and I don't know if it's because we're the same gender or what, but we just have a special relationship that I don't share with anyone else," Peck told Newsweek.
Many of the phrases they've formed have come from funny or memorable moments that they wanted to hold onto and cherish.
The social media response has been unlike anything Peck anticipated. She was inundated with comments from people wishing they had a sisterly relationship like this, which made Peck even more grateful for what she and her sister share.
"I love that the video blew up, but I'm even more grateful that I have a sister who I share this connection with," she continued. "Sharing memories with her every day is something that no amount of likes can replace."
Do you have any viral videos you want to share? We want to see the best ones! Send them in to life@newsweek.com and they could appear on our site.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
By Cardinal Pietro Parente - 336 pages - Sewn Hardcover
This book is a standard reference for all priests and laymen who make the study of theology an important part of their lifetime reading. It is precise, concise, and very thorough. It was written by the Secretary of the CDF under Pius XII who was an important early 20th century orthodox Catholic theologian.
Pietro Parente (16 February 1891 in Casalnuovo Monterotaro, Italy – 29 December 1986 in Vatican City) was a long-serving theologian in the Holy Office of the Roman Catholic Church, and was made a cardinal on 26 June 1967. At his peak he was regarded as one of the foremost Italian theologians. He served as Secretary for the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith from 1959 to 1965 succeeding Cardinal Ottaviani in that post.
During this period of seminary teaching, Parente wrote frequently for the Vatican newspaperL’Osservatore Romano. He gained a reputation for his strongly worded, almost blunt, style of communicating official Church doctrine - something for which he is remembered by almost all those who studied under him. He was the first writer to use the term New Theology to describe the writings of Marie-Dominique Chenu and Louis Charlier in that paper in 1942, and was influential behind the encyclicalHumani generisthat condemned those theologians eight years later. He was the assessor of most of the cases done by the Holy Office during these years and knew Pope Pius XII personally.
Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we continue our answer about the best way to expand your vocabulary.
Last week, we said the best way to improve vocabulary is to really “know a word.” We talked about the form of a word -- or how it sounds, is written, and what its parts are.
Today let's talk about the meaning of words.
Knowing the meaning of a word seems easy: translate it into your native language or look up the definition in a dictionary. But, to fully know the meaning of a word in English, one definition is often not enough.
English words are famous for having more than one definition. For example, look at the word “run” in these sentences.
I’m going to run to the shop.
She runs the local bakery.
Water was running down the table.
All the papers are running the story.
The first definition in Merriam-Webster’s dictionary for “run” is to go faster than a walk. That is certainly the meaning of run in the first sentence but not in the others.
When we say, “she runs the local bakery”, we mean she is the person who operates, manages or owns the shop.
We could say “Water was running down the table” or “Water was flowing down the table.”
And when “all the papers are running the story”, they publish it.
We also have to know the ideas or feelings that a word suggests to fully understand the meaning of a word.
Let’s look at the first example with the word “run.”
I’m going to run to the shop.
This is different than saying:
I’m going to go to the shop.
The second example simply states that we are going to the shop. But the word “run” tells that the trip will be fast.
When we look at the meaning of English words in this way, we can see that our vocabulary expands by fully understanding a word’s meaning.
However, we cannot just exchange one word for another without changing the overall meaning of the sentence. So, next week we will take a look at synonyms - or words that have the same or nearly the same meaning.
Do you have a question about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.
And that’s Aska Teacher.
I’m Gena Bennett.
Yaroslav Khrokalo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.
On the Rialto Show Memorabilia, Antique Games, Rhyming Dictionaries, More in Upcoming Sondheim Auction
The full catalogue of more than 450 lots is now available to peruse online via Doyle Auctions.
Doyle Auctions
A full catalogue of more than 450 lots in the upcoming auction from the estate of late Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim has been revealed by Doyle Auctions, offering a much better look at what will be up for bidding come June 18.
The vast majority of the collection is household items once owned by the Into the Woods and Sweeney Todd composer-lyricist, including a large collection of antique games he had collected. But there are several mementos from his incredible career, including several collections of show posters (including one with a rare window card from a Parisian production of West Side Story), a mirror gifted to Sondheim to commemorate the London premiere of Follies, two caricatures of the Broadway writer from the pen of Clive Francis (one featuring Elaine Stritch), Sondheim's collection of books on Sunday in the Park With George subject Georges Seurat, his personal score to Gypsy (plus a copy of the published edition inscribed by composer Jule Styne), a group of rhyming dictionaries and thesauruses (notably and sadly sans Clement Wood's The Complete Rhyming Dictionary, reportedly his favorite), figurines of the logo caricatures used for the original production of Sweeney Todd, a Sondheim-created bespoke game in which players produce Broadway shows, and lots, lots more.
Find the full collection here. Much of the show-related memorabilia seems to be in the "Books and Manuscripts" category.
The live auction is set for June 18 at 10 AM ET. The collection will be on display at Doyle's Manhattan showroom on East 87th Street June 14–17.
Sondheim, who passed away in 2021, was a true Broadway legend, credited by many with changing the face of musical theatre. He started his career penning lyrics to West Side Story and Gypsy, next moving on to a string of scores as a composer and lyricist, including Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park With George, Into the Woods, Passion, and Assassins. Over his career, he won seven Tony Awards and received an eighth for lifetime achievement; eight Grammys; an Academy Award; and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
0 of
15 Photos Celebrating Stephen Sondheim
15 Photos Celebrating Stephen Sondheim
The late Tony, Oscar, Grammy, and Pulitzer Prize winner was born March 22, 1930.
A campaign is afoot to include humans in UK dictionary definitions of the word 'nature'. Change the definition, change our connection – they say
The Collins Concise dictionary definition of ‘nature’ reads like a relic from bygone times: ‘Plant and animal life, as distinct from man.’
Collins is far from alone, and – blatant sexism aside – a growing body of activists say definitions like this one ignore the frequently damaging impact of humankind on the wider planetary ecosystem.
Now they’re aiming to redress the balance with the #WeAreNature campaign, which calls on major UK dictionaries to change their entries for ‘nature’ to include humans.
Lawyers for Nature, a collective of lawyers, researchers and campaigners working on behalf of the natural world, has partnered with British B Corp interiors brand House of Hackney on the initiative.
“At the moment, nature does not have a voice in the decisions we take that are scientifically proven to be driving climate breakdown and destroying biodiversity,” explained campaign consultant Jessie Mond Wedd. “Our view is that we have separated ourselves from nature and see ourselves as exceptional rather than interdependent on nature, and this is a root cause of our behaviour as a species towards our natural world.”
Campaigners invited academics, creatives, activists, politicians and schoolchildren to come up with their own definitions of nature, and found that their responses overwhelmingly included humans.
Take my Hand: Wistman’s Wood on Dartmoor, England, photographed by Neil Burnell
Environmentalist Ben Goldsmith asserted: “Nature is the living tapestry of all things which shines all around us.”
Writer Robert Macfarlane’s definition read: “The greatest group noun of them all; the entangled web of planetary life of which humans are inextricably part.” And naturalist Chris Packham said that nature is “the entire living world – it, them, me, you and us.”
They believe that a wider meaning of the word has the potential to influence thinking and decision-making on issues that impact nature, by recognising that humankind is also inevitably harmed by damaging actions.
We are witnessing the rising of a collective remembrance and yearning to reconnect, and this is just the beginning
Definitions were dispatched to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), which agreed to a small concession: One wider definition of nature as ‘the whole natural world, including human beings,’ is no longer described as obsolete.
Campaigners hope their win will be a stepping-stone to the OED amending its main entry, and in an open letter they are asking other major UK dictionaries to follow suit. Members of the public are invited to add their voices to the campaign by signing a petition.
House of Hackney co-founder Frieda Gormley said: “We have forgotten our connection to the natural world; that we are part of nature and that we need nature. But within this is a story of hope. We are witnessing the rising of a collective remembrance and yearning to reconnect, and this is just the beginning.”
Main image: the Mud Maid at the The Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall, by Tony Hisgett / Flickr
Support solutions in 2024
Positive News is helping more people than ever to get a balanced and uplifting view of the world. While doom and gloom dominates other news outlets, our solutions journalism exists to support your wellbeing and empower you to make a difference towards a better future.
But our reporting has a cost and, as an independent, not-for-profit media organisation, we rely on the financial backing of our readers. If you value what we do and can afford to, please get behind our team with a regular or one-off contribution.
Give once from just £1, or join 1,400+ others who contribute an average of £3 or more per month. You’ll be directly funding the production and sharing of our stories – helping our solutions journalism to benefit many more people.
Join our community today, and together, we’ll change the news for good.
A campaign is afoot to include humans in UK dictionary definitions of the word 'nature'. Change the definition, change our connection – they say
The Collins Concise dictionary definition of ‘nature’ reads like a relic from bygone times: ‘Plant and animal life, as distinct from man.’
Collins is far from alone, and – blatant sexism aside – a growing body of activists say definitions like this one ignore the frequently damaging impact of humankind on the wider planetary ecosystem.
Now they’re aiming to redress the balance with the #WeAreNature campaign, which calls on major UK dictionaries to change their entries for ‘nature’ to include humans.
Lawyers for Nature, a collective of lawyers, researchers and campaigners working on behalf of the natural world, has partnered with British B Corp interiors brand House of Hackney on the initiative.
“At the moment, nature does not have a voice in the decisions we take that are scientifically proven to be driving climate breakdown and destroying biodiversity,” explained campaign consultant Jessie Mond Wedd. “Our view is that we have separated ourselves from nature and see ourselves as exceptional rather than interdependent on nature, and this is a root cause of our behaviour as a species towards our natural world.”
Campaigners invited academics, creatives, activists, politicians and schoolchildren to come up with their own definitions of nature, and found that their responses overwhelmingly included humans.
Take my Hand: Wistman’s Wood on Dartmoor, England, photographed by Neil Burnell
Environmentalist Ben Goldsmith asserted: “Nature is the living tapestry of all things which shines all around us.”
Writer Robert Macfarlane’s definition read: “The greatest group noun of them all; the entangled web of planetary life of which humans are inextricably part.” And naturalist Chris Packham said that nature is “the entire living world – it, them, me, you and us.”
They believe that a wider meaning of the word has the potential to influence thinking and decision-making on issues that impact nature, by recognising that humankind is also inevitably harmed by damaging actions.
We are witnessing the rising of a collective remembrance and yearning to reconnect, and this is just the beginning
Definitions were dispatched to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), which agreed to a small concession: One wider definition of nature as ‘the whole natural world, including human beings,’ is no longer described as obsolete.
Campaigners hope their win will be a stepping-stone to the OED amending its main entry, and in an open letter they are asking other major UK dictionaries to follow suit. Members of the public are invited to add their voices to the campaign by signing a petition.
House of Hackney co-founder Frieda Gormley said: “We have forgotten our connection to the natural world; that we are part of nature and that we need nature. But within this is a story of hope. We are witnessing the rising of a collective remembrance and yearning to reconnect, and this is just the beginning.”
Main image: the Mud Maid at the The Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall, by Tony Hisgett / Flickr
Support solutions in 2024
Positive News is helping more people than ever to get a balanced and uplifting view of the world. While doom and gloom dominates other news outlets, our solutions journalism exists to support your wellbeing and empower you to make a difference towards a better future.
But our reporting has a cost and, as an independent, not-for-profit media organisation, we rely on the financial backing of our readers. If you value what we do and can afford to, please get behind our team with a regular or one-off contribution.
Give once from just £1, or join 1,400+ others who contribute an average of £3 or more per month. You’ll be directly funding the production and sharing of our stories – helping our solutions journalism to benefit many more people.
Join our community today, and together, we’ll change the news for good.
This week I learned that pretty much everyone who’s ever opined about the word “peruse” was wrong, kind of. And the people who corrected the people who opined wrongly were also wrong, kind of. And that I, myself, never quite understood the real deal with “peruse,” even though I thought I had it all figured out.
Here’s the most common way I see “peruse” used these days: “Peruse the charming boutiques.” “Peruse the delicious menu options.” “Peruse the aisles.” In other words, I see “peruse” used to mean “browse.”
Ten or 20 years ago, the only “peruses” I ever noticed referred to reading, not looking at merchandise. From here, the controversy heats up because there are different ways to read something. You can read something closely and carefully, you can skim it casually, or you can read it while paying just the normal amount of attention. And in the early 1900s, people started saying that only one of those is correct.
“Peruse should not be used when the simple ‘read’ is meant,” argued author Frank Vizetelly in the 1906 “A Desk-Book of Errors in English,” which is cited in Merriam-Webster’s
Dictionary of English Usage. “Peruse,” Vizetelly argued, means “to read with care and attention … to examine with critical care and in detail.”
The idea caught on, and within a few decades this rule was standard in prescriptivist handbooks of English like Eric Partridge’s influential 1942 guide “Usage and Abusage.” “Peruse is not synonymous with ‘to read,’ for it means to read thoroughly, read carefully from beginning to end,” Partridge wrote. “One peruses a contract, one reads an (ordinary) advertisement.”
The idea stuck, and to this day anyone who uses “peruse” to mean “skim” or “read” can draw sneers from adherents of this long-held belief.
Strangely, though, it seems Vizetelly based this rule on nothing but his own beliefs. “While we cannot be sure, it appears that this notion of the correct use of ‘peruse’ was Vizetelly’s own invention,” Merriam’s explains. “It was certainly born in disregard of dictionary definitions of the word and in apparent ignorance of the literary traditions on which those dictionary definitions were based.”
What “literary traditions” might those be? Plenty. Notably, lots and lots of passages from Shakespeare, who used “peruse” to mean “read” all the time. A few examples cited in Merriam’s: “I have perused the note” (“The Taming of the Shrew”). “Peruse this writing here, and thou shalt know the treason that my haste forbids me to show” (“Richard II”). “Both they and we, perusing o’er these notes, may know wherefore we took the sacrament” (“King John”). William Wordsworth, Jane Austen, Benjamin Franklin and Jonathan Swift also used “peruse” in the more liberal sense, according to Merriam’s.
So when Vizetelly laid down his rule, he was saying, “Do as I say, not as revered writers have done for centuries.” And people listened.
How, then, should modern English speakers use “peruse”? Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (not the same as the usage guide cited above) lists the stricter definition first: “to examine or consider with attention and in detail, study.” But its secondary definition “to look over or through in a casual or cursory manner” can mean to skim a written passage. It can even mean to look at things other than text, like items on shelves in a boutique. So even the loosest usage of “peruse” is acceptable. The dictionary’s final definition, “to read,” allows for careful or hasty reading. Both are fine.
“Yes; one of our definitions for ‘peruse’ is ‘to skim,’” the dictionary explains in a usage note. “However, you should be aware that another of our definitions for this word is ‘to read something in detail.’ Some usage guides feel that the ‘read carefully’ sense is correct and that the ‘skim’ sense is not. Both have been in widespread use for some four hundred years.”
June Casagrande is the author of “The Joy of Syntax: A Simple Guide to All the Grammar You Know You Should Know.” She can be reached atJuneTCN@aol.com.
'Straya is a country with a genius for the pithy phrase or shortened word, and etymologist Mark Gwynn has the job of recording the 17,000 and counting that make up the Aussie lexicon.
Gwynn is the editor of numerous Australian Oxford dictionaries and thesauruses and senior researcher with the Australian National Dictionary Centre.
Crickey and strewth, two of Aussie's oldest colloquialisms, are both euphemisms, he tells Nine to Noon.
"Crikey has got to do with Christ's blood and strewth is God's truth."
And bloody, the "great Australian adjective" has been around just as long, he said.
"It was seen as a very taboo word, even in Australia or New Zealand, but it became ubiquitous.
"It was used so frequently it was often commented upon from visitors from the US In the UK that it's used every in every sentence."
Fast forward a century or so and Australia gives the world the word selfie, he said.
"My colleagues over at the Oxford English Dictionary in the UK certainly think that the earliest examples are from Australia.
"That's the earliest evidence I've been able to find as well. Most people would recognise that classic Australian 'ie' suffix that we put on the end of words such as barbie, sunnies, pressies, mushies."
The word spread around the world quickly, as does all language now, he said.
"Now these words are migrating more quickly and vice versa too, we find American-English and British-English being used very quickly in in the Antipodes."
A new entrant into the dictionary is 'eshay' a pig Latin form of slang originating in Aussie youth culture.
"Eshay might come from yes, or 'eshyay', or sesh as in a session of smoking."
It's a word associated with western Sydney youth culture, but has made its way overseas, he said, as programmes such as Heartbreak High are shown on Netflix.
"People are wondering where this, or who this, 'eshay' is."
The Aussie abbreviation is legendary, it's all about familiarity and being part of the group, he said.
"To lower the tone, to be informal and to talk about barbies and sunnies and mushies, it's a classic way that language brings people closer to you."
'G'day maaaate' the classic greeting got a 1980s boost with a Paul Hogan-fronted tourist campaign, he said. Although 'throw another shrimp on the barbie' was more of an Americanism, as no Aussie calls a prawn a shrimp.
The origin of bogan remains an etymological mystery, Gwynn said.
"Originally it was thought it was a word that emerged in the early '80s here in eastern Australia, around Sydney, and that kind of area, and possibly might have been related the Bogan River in New South Wales, which is out west.
"People in Australia might talk about Westies, and people from the west are a little bit rough. And not as sophisticated."
New evidence suggests the word comes from much further west, he said.
"We've found the earliest evidence is coming from Western Australia, the opposite side of the country, which is nowhere near the Bogan River."
For now, this word is classed "origin unknown", he said.
Phrases wax and wane, he said, 'spit the dummy' is not as widely used as it once was.
"Australia is quite creative, but also self-deprecating 'you've got a head like a half-sucked mango' for instance, or 'head like a robber's dog'.
"I mean, these are kind of expressions that that sound cruel, but they're often used on oneself. 'A face like a dropped pie' is one of my favourites."
New phrases entering the lexicon are 'bachelor's handbag' for supermarket cooked chicken and 'flog', he said.
"Flog is quite a well-known one here now, meaning an idiot or a fool. I mean, Australian-English is well known for drongos, ningnongs, boofheads, all sorts of terms for someone that might be a bit of a fool. But flog seems to be the newer version."
There’s a new way to learn Native languages: Sealaska Heritage Institute has created an online searchable dictionary with accompanying audio.
The online dictionary allows users to search words and phrases in English or LingÃt (Tlingit language), Xaad KÃl (Haida language) and Shm’algyack (Tsimshian language).
The audio recordings allow users to listen to heritage language speakers pronouncing words and phrases.
SHI launched an app for the Tlingit language in 2016, and more recently launched apps for Tsimshian and Haida. But the apps only allowed users to browse words and phrases.
This new online dictionary is the first software that allows users to search words and phrases and the first that includes all three languages in one place, according to Sealaska Heritage’s May 8 announcement.
The Tlingit section includes over 50 categories of words, the Haida section has nearly 40 categories and the Tsimshian section has 30. Categories include fish, food, geography, plants and clothing.
The online dictionary and apps are available for free on SHI’s website through sealaskaheritage.org or here for direct access. The dictionary will continue to be updated with words and audio recordings.
SHI began as a nonprofit in 1980 to preserve and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures in Southeast Alaska. In the 1990s it began to make language revitalization a priority, sponsoring teaching activities and university classes and developing resources like videos, apps, podcasts and games.
“We have produced materials to revitalize our languages and apps that allow people to browse categories and hear audio. Now we have a database that offers all of that and includes a search function,” SHI President Rosita Worl said in a prepared statement. “It’s a game changer.”
What’s your middle name and what do you think of it?
Anne. I added the “e” after reading Anne of Green Gables when I was nine, to make it suitably exotic.
Where is your favourite place in Ireland?
My home in Howth, Co Dublin.
Describe yourself in 3 words
Dreamy. Practical. Passionate.
When did you last get angry?
A few months ago, when someone lied about something. (Cue Murder She Wrote theme tune)
What have you lost that you’d like to get back?
A belief that humans are inherently good.
What’s your strongest childhood memory?
Being all dressed up for something, looking in the mirror, and realising I didn’t look like the fairy princesses from the cartoons.
Where do you come in your family’s birth order, and has this defined you?
If you look up middle-child syndrome in the dictionary, you’ll find a picture of me.
What do you expect to happen when you die?
I expect to rejoin the earth, dust to dust. But I hope for something beyond my wildest imagination.
When were you happiest?
Can’t choose one. My wedding day; when my children were born; when tests ruled out a serious illness for one of my children. But increasingly, I aim for contentment over happiness.
Which actor would play you in a biopic about your life?
Ryan Reynolds.
What’s your biggest career/personal regret?
Never writing that book. But who knows?
Have you any psychological quirks?
I hate being early. It makes me antsy, like I’ve wasted crucial minutes. I could have put the clothes on the line! As a result, I’m often late.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/HRGB6KSPBRKBBJQ23GBKL7OSEU.jpg)