The Editorially Independent Voice of The University of Akron

The Buchtelite

The Editorially Independent Voice of The University of Akron

The Buchtelite

The Editorially Independent Voice of The University of Akron

The Buchtelite

Unfriending isn't too wordy

“As it stands, there are over 300 million users on Facebook worldwide, and as social networking continues to grow, so does our vocabulary. Whether or not you are a fan of words such as LOL or OMG, there’s probably a good chance that you’ve used them before.”

As it stands, there are over 300 million users on Facebook worldwide, and as social networking continues to grow, so does our vocabulary.

Whether or not you are a fan of words such as LOL or OMG, there’s probably a good chance that you’ve used them before.

The New Oxford American Dictionary has also jumped on the band wagon, naming unfriend, as its Word of the Year.

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This new verb, used to describe the process of eliminating the link to a friend’s Facebook, has both currency and potential longevity, Christine Lindberg, senior lexicographer of Oxford’s U.S. dictionary program said.

In the online social networking context, its meaning is understood, so its adoption as a modern verb form makes this an interesting choice for the Word of the Year.

This is the first word created by the internet to recieve such a title, but more techy words are said to appear in NOAD’s 2010 edition.

That being said, it is clear that language continues to adapt and change, however it seems to be to the effect of laziness.

There’s nothing wrong with adding new words to our vocabulary, but maybe some should be taken out to compensate.

If anything, additional words in the English language have the potential to create different interpretations with such an array of meanings.

The more words that are made available to describe things, the harder it is to choose the right one.

Rather than confusing the masses, if words were to be removed from the dictionary, people may have less difficulty in choosing the right way to describe something.

After all, no one likes making things complicated.

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