Every year, there are reports on new words that lexicographers have included in new versions of dictionaries. Read this article about new entries for this year and have a think about the following:
1. Are lexicographers (people who write dictionaries) doing a job which is prescriptivist or descriptivist in nature?
2. What do you think about the inclusion of these words. Would you have included them? Have you heard all of them being used?
3. The fact that 'trans-gender' has been included is of great importance to our work on language and gender. Does the word's inclusion reflect changing societal attitudes? How will these social attitudes change the way we study language and gender?
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