The Oxford English Dictionary—the “OED” to its friends—has announced a 2016 update， consisting of over 1，000 new words and word meanings， along with the revision or expansion of over 2，000 entries1）.

The revisions are not just new words or phrases， like “glamping，” “air-punching，” “sweary” and “budgie smugglers.” The OED has also revised its entry of “bittem，” an obsolete2） word over 1000 years old， meaning “the keel or lower part of a ships hull.”

Where did the new words come from？ Some are borrowed from other languages， such as “narcocorrido” （a Spanish word for a traditional Mexican ballad recounting the exploits of drug traffickers）， “potjie” （from Afrikaans， a three-legged cast iron cooking pot for use over a fire）， and “shishito” （from Japanese， a particular kind of chili used in Asian cooking）.

Some additions are deeply revealing of our modern preoccupations—such as the terms “assisted death.” This category also includes the word “agender” （without gender）， born of a communal reaction to our deeply binary thinking around gender. The OED dates its use first to the year 2000.

The OED has also added new “initialisms.” To its existing list， which included IMF （International Monetary Fund） and IDB （illicit3） diamond buyer）， it has added ICYMI （in case you missed it）， IRL （in real life）， IDK （I dont know）， and FFS （look that one up if you dont know it already！）

Many of the new entries are made by combining words. Some of these fit the definition of “compound words，” that is， words formed by joining two together， such as “air-punching，” “bare-knuckle” and “self-identity.” Others are just two words put side-by-side， such as “power couple，” “hockey mum4），” “test drive” and “star sign.”

Clearly some of these terms—“budgie smugglers” for instance—have been around for some time. The OED dates this term to 1998. The source is The Games， the Australian mockumentary5） television series about the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

The expression “battle of the sexes，” meanwhile， has only just made it into the dictionary. The OED first attests its use right back to 1723.

Then there are the new forms from old stock. For instance， to the verb “exploit，” the OED is adding an adjective （“exploitational”）， an adverb （“exploitatively”）， and a noun to denote someone who is exploiting someone or something （“exploiter”）.

To the verb “to swear” the OED now includes “sweary，” both as noun （a swear word can be called “a sweary”） and adjective （meaning something or someone characterized by a lot of swearing）.

Why the Wait？

So how do words get into the dictionary？ “Lexicographers”—the folk who make dictionaries—add words only when there is evidence of usage over some period of time， and across various contexts of usage.

A dictionary can never hold every word of a language. The only estimate I know suggests that well over half the words of English are not recorded by dictionaries. Since this research is based on the Google Books corpus， the data is only from published books in university libraries. We can safely say this figure is very conservative.

Somewhere around 400 million people speak English as a native language. But linguist David Crystal estimates three times as many speak English as an additional language. Thanks to colonization， English is the primary language for countries as diverse as Barbados， Singapore， and Belize.

This latest OED update includes the publication of written and spoken pronunciations for additional English varieties6）， including those versions spoken in Australia， Canada， the Caribbean， Ireland， New Zealand， the Philippines， Scotland， Singapore， Malaysia and South Africa. While some of these varieties already had coverage， their presentation has been expanded.

In Praise of Singlish

The addition of Singapore English is new. Speakers of Singapore English （or “Singlish”）—I count myself as a reasonable speaker of this dialect7）—will be delighted to see the inclusion of words such as “ang moh” （a light-skinned person of Western origin）， “killer litter” （objects thrown or falling from high-rise buildings， endangering the people below） and “shiok” （an expression of admiration）.

If you think English belongs to Anglos8）， then you can start by banishing the word “yum cha” from your vocabulary. For a good laugh at Australian English， and the Indian variety， try the series “How to speak Australians，” from the “Dehli Institute of Linguistics.”

By adding the “World Englishes” to the entries on British and American English， the OED has opened a Pandoras box. For instance， read the OEDs explanation for choosing “White South African English” as the model to represent their entries on South African English.

Changes to the OED remind us that a language is not a fixed entity. Not only is English constantly changing， but its boundaries are fluid.

Languages are open and dynamic： open to other dialects and their many and varied users. Therein lies both the power and beauty of language.

《牛津英语词典》——熟悉的人称之为“OED”——推出了2016年的更新，其中收录了一千多个新词和词义，修订并扩充了两千多个词条。

修订版中不仅收录了“glamping”（豪华野营）、“air-punching”（向空中挥拳，指开心时或成功后向空中挥舞握紧的拳头的动作）、“sweary”（满口脏话的）以及“budgie smugglers”（紧身泳裤）这样的新词及短语，还包括了“bittem”这样一千多年前出现的旧词，指的是船的龙骨或相对较低的部分。

新词源自何处呢？有些借用了其他语种，如“narcocorrido”（西班牙语中指一种传统墨西哥民谣，讲述毒贩的事迹）、“potjie”（源自南非语，指架在火上使用的三足铸铁锅）以及“shishito”（源自日语，指亚洲菜里使用的一种特殊的辣椒）。

有些新词深刻揭示了当今人们的关注点，例如词组“assisted death”（协助死亡）。这一类新词汇还包括“agender”（无性别），我们对性别有着根深蒂固的二元思维，而“agender”一词就源自公众对这二元思维的一种反应。OED推断这个单词在2000年开始使用。

OED还增添了新的“首字母缩略词”，在原有的缩略语词表——包括了IMF （世界货币基金组织）和IDB （非法钻石购买者）——之外新增了ICYMI （万一你错过了）、IRL （现实生活中）、IDK （我不知道）和FFS （如果你还不知道就赶紧查查吧！）。

许多新词条是合并几个单词构成的。有些新词条符合“合成词”的定义，即由两个词连接在一起组成的词。例如，“air-punching”“bare-knuckle”（不带拳击手套的）和“self-identity”（自我认同）。还有一些词只是把两个单词并排放在一起组合而成，比如：“power couple”（有影响力的夫妻）、“hockey mum”（冰球妈妈）、“test drive”（试驾）和“star sign”（星座）。

很显然一些新词，比如“budgie smugglers”，已经出现了一段时间。OED将这个单词的出现追溯到了1998年澳大利亚拍摄的系列电视伪纪录片《奥运会》中，该片讲述的是2000年悉尼奥运会。……