Word associated with Christianity and British history taken out of the dictionary

[The_Right_Honourable_Brit]

When the hell are liberals going to stop their relentless rampage against Western values?

Oxford University Press has removed words like "aisle", "bishop", "chapel", "empire" and "monarch" from its Junior Dictionary and replaced them with words like "blog", "broadband" and "celebrity". Dozens of words related to the countryside have also been culled.

The publisher claims the changes have been made to reflect the fact that Britain is a modern, multicultural, multifaith society.

But academics and head teachers said that the changes to the 10,000 word Junior Dictionary could mean that children lose touch with Britain's heritage.

"We have a certain Christian narrative which has given meaning to us over the last 2,000 years. To say it is all relative and replaceable is questionable," said Professor Alan Smithers, the director of the centre for education and employment at Buckingham University. "The word selections are a very interesting reflection of the way childhood is going, moving away from our spiritual background and the natural world and towards the world that information technology creates for us."

An analysis of the word choices made by the dictionary lexicographers has revealed that entries from "abbey" to "willow" have been axed. Instead, words such as "MP3 player", "voicemail" and "attachment" have taken their place.

Lisa Saunders, a worried mother who has painstakingly compared entries from the junior dictionaries, aimed at children aged seven or over, dating from 1978, 1995, 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2007, said she was "horrified" by the vast number of words that have been removed, most since 2003.

"The Christian faith still has a strong following," she said. "To eradicate so many words associated with the Christianity will have a big effect on the numerous primary schools who use it."

Words taken out:

Carol, cracker, holly, ivy, mistletoe

Dwarf, elf, goblin

Abbey, aisle, altar, bishop, chapel, christen, disciple, minister, monastery, monk, nun, nunnery, parish, pew, psalm, pulpit, saint, sin, devil, vicar

Coronation, duchess, duke, emperor, empire, monarch, decade

adder, ass, beaver, boar, budgerigar, bullock, cheetah, colt, corgi, cygnet, doe, drake, ferret, gerbil, goldfish, guinea pig, hamster, heron, herring, kingfisher, lark, leopard, lobster, magpie, minnow, mussel, newt, otter, ox, oyster, panther, pelican, piglet, plaice, poodle, porcupine, porpoise, raven, spaniel, starling, stoat, stork, terrapin, thrush, weasel, wren.

Acorn, allotment, almond, apricot, ash, bacon, beech, beetroot, blackberry, blacksmith, bloom, bluebell, bramble, bran, bray, bridle, brook, buttercup, canary, canter, carnation, catkin, cauliflower, chestnut, clover, conker, county, cowslip, crocus, dandelion, diesel, fern, fungus, gooseberry, gorse, hazel, hazelnut, heather, holly, horse chestnut, ivy, lavender, leek, liquorice, manger, marzipan, melon, minnow, mint, nectar, nectarine, oats, pansy, parsnip, pasture, poppy, porridge, poultry, primrose, prune, radish, rhubarb, sheaf, spinach, sycamore, tulip, turnip, vine, violet, walnut, willow

Words put in:

Blog, broadband, MP3 player, voicemail, attachment, database, export, chatroom, bullet point, cut and paste, analogue

Celebrity, tolerant, vandalism, negotiate, interdependent, creep, citizenship, childhood, conflict, common sense, debate, EU, drought, brainy, boisterous, cautionary tale, bilingual, bungee jumping, committee, compulsory, cope, democratic, allergic, biodegradable, emotion, dyslexic, donate, endangered, Euro

Apparatus, food chain, incisor, square number, trapezium, alliteration, colloquial, idiom, curriculum, classify, chronological, block graph

 

[Zenbaas]

That is completely retarded! Add words yes....but why remove so many or at all for that matter..?

 

[pos(t)er]

This is hardly an attack on Xtianity. Compare the # of religious words left out with the # of non-religious words left out. It's an academically questionable move, though.

 

[The_Right_Honourable_Brit]

Yes that is true, but why are words linked with Christianity being taken out when in the 2001 UK census, over 70% of people called themselves Christian ?

 

[pos(t)er]

Yes, that is strange. It also creates a dilemma culturally: Westminster abbey is one of Britians' most famous sites, so if people don't know the word abbey it makes for some WTF moments.

 

[Xarog]

May I point out that it's the JUNIOR DICTIONARY?

I.e. the dictionary given to little kids. Now honestly, what do you think matters more to a little 6 year old : knowing what an aisle is, or knowing what an MP3 player is?

 

[pos(t)er]

May I point out that it's the JUNIOR DICTIONARY?

I.e. the dictionary given to little kids. Now honestly, what do you think matters more to a little 6 year old : knowing what an aisle is, or knowing what an MP3 player is?

But if kiddy continues not giving **** about words like abbey? And what about dwarf, elf, etc. No more fairy tales for little Johnny?

 

[daveza]

http://www.faqs.org/abstracts/Retai...ACY-QUALITY-UK-STILL-NOT-ENOUGH-TEACHERS.html

Not very surprising that this is the result of dumbing down..

Almost 50% of children are leaving their primary schools without being able to write to the standards expected across the UK, claimed the departing Office for Standards in Education

Yup - dwarfs are a non-no.

Now we get Snow White and the 7 Little People.

 

[slowcheetah]

But academics and head teachers said that the changes to the 10,000 word Junior Dictionary could mean that children lose touch with Britain's heritage.

While I don't agree with all the changes made I just don't see what's wrong with removing some words that are of little or no relevance to modern times. It's not like they're gonna erase it from their memories or anything

It's not like they are just removing. They are adding new words that may sound corny or weird at first coming from a dictionary but those are the words that we are using now.

 

[Alan]

When the hell are liberals going to stop their relentless rampage against Western values?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/educatio...istory-taken-out-of-childrens-dictionary.html

Never. They don't have anything better to do than purge 'western values' which they disdain

 

[The_Right_Honourable_Brit]

While I don't agree with all the changes made I just don't see what's wrong with removing some words that are of little or no relevance to modern times. It's not like they're gonna erase it from their memories or anything

It's not like they are just removing. They are adding new words that may sound corny or weird at first coming from a dictionary but those are the words that we are using now.

Sorry but I'd rather have my kid learning the word 'misteltoe' than 'MP3 player'. I'd like my kid to have an advanced vocabulary, not one that any stupid person can gain.

 

[reech]

May I point out that it's the JUNIOR DICTIONARY?

I.e. the dictionary given to little kids. Now honestly, what do you think matters more to a little 6 year old : knowing what an aisle is, or knowing what an MP3 player is?

It's called indoctrination.

 

[Alan]

It's called indoctrination.

The targets are getting younger and younger

 

[Vitowe]

The targets are getting younger and younger

This world has become a very, very sick place.

 

[supersunbird]

When the hell are liberals going to stop their relentless rampage against Western values?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/educatio...istory-taken-out-of-childrens-dictionary.html

When Christians stop being so damn hypocritical and two faced, that's when...

aka NEVER!

 

[slowcheetah]

Sorry but I'd rather have my kid learning the word 'misteltoe' than 'MP3 player'. I'd like my kid to have an advanced vocabulary, not one that any stupid person can gain.

Is the words being removed really going to be the tipping factor in whether or not your son has a good vocabulary?

But what does it matter in any case? Just keep the current copy of the Oxford dictionary then if you don't want to have new words. Don't buy the new version. Simple.

 

[Xarog]

You do realise that the english language we speak today is notably different from the one spoken 100 years ago?

Lord of the Rings, much to my amusement, talks about throwing faggots on the fire. Of course back then it actually referred to a log of wood. Barely anyone refers to donkeys as an "ass" anymore. Same goes for budgies and "budgerigar".

Just look at the difference between spoken Afrikaans and Dutch, for those of you who can actually speak Afrikaans.

Languages evolve and knee-jerk reactions about swapping a few words around in a CHILDREN'S dictionary is just downright dumb.

I take it no one moaned when "democracy" was added to the list of new words, right? ... right?

 

[BrrIan]

When the hell are conservatives going to stop their relentless rampage against Western values? Actually what are Western values? I presume whatever they are they have always been exactly as they are today.

Sorry but I'd rather have my kid learning the word 'misteltoe' than 'MP3 player'. I'd like my kid to have an advanced vocabulary, not one that any stupid person can gain.

There is nothing stopping you buying a more complete version of the dictionary. Besides which vocabulary comes from reading books, not dictionaries.

 

[pos(t)er]

You do realise that the english language we speak today is notably different from the one spoken 100 years ago?

Lord of the Rings, much to my amusement, talks about throwing faggots on the fire. Of course back then it actually referred to a log of wood. Barely anyone refers to donkeys as an "ass" anymore. Same goes for budgies and "budgerigar".

Just look at the difference between spoken Afrikaans and Dutch, for those of you who can actually speak Afrikaans.

Languages evolve and knee-jerk reactions about swapping a few words around in a CHILDREN'S dictionary is just downright dumb.

I take it no one moaned when "democracy" was added to the list of new words, right? ... right?

You'll still find the explanation of faggot as used by Tolkien in the dictionary.
With this one, a word like elf will simply be missing.

Evolution of language is inevatible, but keeping the knowledge of how language was used is equally important.

 

[PeterCH]

It's called indoctrination.

Yeah baby. Gotta sell those MP3 players! Marketing replacing culture.
Oh well, consumerism and corporate marketing IS the new CULTURE.