Yinz will have to wait. Oxford University Press and Merriam-Webster, publishers of two of the most widely used dictionaries, recently reviewed thousands of words and about 100 new entries will be included in their latest editions. Some might believe that those -- including yada yada, wazoo, unibrow and freakazoid -- infantilize (another newbie) the English language. That might be true, said professor Lawrence Gaichas, chair of the classics department at Duquesne University. But the words symbolize the "living" English language, he said. "Some would say it's the evolution and the deterioration of the language," Gaichas said. "You can say that, but it does not mean the dictionary should not (include them). "(Dictionaries) basically are lists saying here's what's out there." Most of the new words are slang. Others are vulgar and cannot be printed here. "Linguists really take a different point of view on slang than, I would say, most English teachers," said Howard Selekman, chairman of the language arts department at Dorseyville Middle School in the Fox Chapel Area School District. Selekman has extensively studied linguistics and was named Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year in 1990. "Most English teachers have this feeling that they are there to protect the English language and slow down the influence of negative forces, (to) which language scientists would say, 'That's impossible.'" Population shifts, migration patterns and global interaction contribute to the evolution of the English language, Selekman said. Inclusion in mainstream dictionaries, however, signifies more than legitimacy for the trendy, slang words, Gaichas said. Many times, it also leads to their deaths. "They now have been accepted into the canon of OK words," he said. "It puts a kind of time value on the word. "It certainly does make a comment on the American degree of eloquence or literacy." As for yinz -- Pittsburghers' solution to the plural 'you' -- being included in future editions, Gaichas said there's always a chance. "Even what we would call Pittsburghese," he said, "has some logical merit to it." Additional Information:
New additions
The following sample of words, with their definitions, is being added to mainstream dictionaries: Oxford English Dictionary Wazoo: The buttocks, the anus Freakazoid: A bizarre or freakish person Infantilize: To treat (a person) inappropriately or condescendingly like an infant or young child; to encourage infantile behavior in (a person) by doing this. Also: to cause (something) to lack sophistication or maturity. Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition Mouse potato: A person who spends a great deal of time using a computer Avian influenza: A highly variable mild to fulminant influenza of birds that is caused by strains of the influenza A virus which may mutate and be transmitted to other vertebrates -- called also bird flu Unibrow: A single continuous brow resulting from the growing together of eyebrows
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