What? W00t?

[gnomi]

OK, OK... I was hoping to get through the month without having to type "w00t" in this forum. But (yes, byrne, I'm starting a sentence with a conjunction) since a couple of folks have specifically sought my opinion on the widely reported choice of "w00t" as Merriam-Webster's word of the year, I can stay silent no more.

So here it is: It's not true.

It's not true that the dictonary's editorial staff has chosen "w00t" as its word of the year. As the AP's article reports, it was the winner of an online poll.

And, yes, it's true that John Morse, the president of Merriam-Webster, thinks "w00t" is an ideal choice, but as far as I know he does not sit on the editorial board.

So, in conclusion, I see no reason for anyone to see this as the end of the English language.

(And, anyway, the Merriam-Webster is a loosey-goosey descriptivist dictionary.)

Comments

[byrne.livejournal.com]

This is the most perfect post ever.

Especially the very last line. :D

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Awwww, you're terribly sweet.

::smooches::

[530nm330hz.livejournal.com]

I believe they prefer to be called l00sey-g00sey

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

::giggle::

[lonfiction.livejournal.com]

Not to mention I thought w00t was from "Wow, Loot!"

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

I'm not really sure of the etymology of w00t.

[lonfiction.livejournal.com]

paleolinguists of the future will be debating it for centuries to come....

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

I have no doubt. :-)

[tiptoe39.livejournal.com]

I love you so very desperately.

However...
everyone knows the editorial board is going to choose "pwnz" instead. :D

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

::blushes::

I can just see the example sentence:

"W00t!" yelled the boy. "The editorial board of Merriam-Webster pwnz teh intarwebz."

[caryabend.livejournal.com]

Since when did any old collection of typographical symbols become a word?

_grumble.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

When the $&@* rabble rousers became the elite? ;-)

A word, yes. A mainstream, accepted word? I'd say no.

[sydmcginley.livejournal.com]

whoot, teh OED rolls ovuh and diez. coz u no prescriptive is ded. and unkool. lol.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

ROTFL!

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

Thanks for doing the research!

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

It didn't sound right to me that M-W's editorial board would choose such a "fringe" word, so I looked into it.

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

I was thinking of looking it up, but saw your post first. :-)

[rivkaesque.livejournal.com]

All hail the OED!

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

I love the OED.

Interestingly enough, it's a descriptivist, not prescriptivist, dictionary.

[thatcrazycajun.livejournal.com]

What is the difference between those two types, for the less linguistically trained among us?

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Stating it simply, the prescriptivists tell you how language *should* be used, and the descriptivists tell you how language is *being* used.