From:
Info <info**At_Symbol_Here**ILPI.COM>
Subject:
Re: [DCHAS-L] Respect in DCHAS-L
Date:
Dec 19, 2022 14:18 UTC
Reply-To:
ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Message-ID:
<490C5EFB-6860-4FC1-8F7C-946E67463929**At_Symbol_Here**ilpi.com>
In-Reply-To:
<trinity-9de4daf4-1056-4988-b3f5-923ad79025b5-1671450626746@3c-app-mailcom-bs12>
I have to say that I disagree with this disparaging of dictionaries. Yes, it behoves us to be aware how some words can have different implications or connotations in different contexts - but this is why it is worth holding to the standard definition of the word. Its been elsewhere pointed out that this is particularly important for those for whom English isn't their first language. I would go further: given that English is the de facto global lingua franca, trying to adjust to localized slangs or code words is a recipe for a "bloomin', buzzing confusion".
The use of "urban" below is instructive. It may well have that connotation in the United States, but I doubt it holds in the United Kingdom, India or South Africa (three nations I have lived in). I searched ScienceDirect for "Urban" and found a lot of papers none of which used the term in a nonstandard way.
It’s worth mentioning Urban Dictionary at this point. For those not familiar with it, Wikipedia summarizes it thusly:
Urban Dictionary is a crowdsourced English-language online dictionary for slang words and phrases, operating under the motto "Define Your World". The website was founded in 1999 by Aaron Peckham. Originally, Urban Dictionary was intended as a dictionary of slang or cultural words and phrases, not typically found in standard English dictionaries, but it is now used to define any word, event, or phrase (including sexually explicit content). Words or phrases on Urban Dictionary may have multiple definitions, usage examples, and tags. As of 2014, the dictionary contains over seven million definitions, while around 2,000 new entries were being added daily.
If you look up urban there (ignoring the entries which refer to it as slang for Urban Dictionary itself), you’ll find both the typical canonical definitions as well as the ones that surprised Jessica. Caution: some language may be offensive:
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Urban
A safe and happy holiday season to all!
Rob Toreki
