By Heather Sullivan, Balanced Rock Program Director
In a recent discussion with friends, I was informed that the Junior Webster’s Dictionary is taking out words like “acorn” and “raven” to make space for words like “blog and “Facebook”. I simply could not believe this. Yet, internet research seems to support this claim:“To make way for modern tech terms such as BlackBerry, blog, voicemail and broadband, the latest edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary has opted to drop terms pertaining to old nature. (http://www.nextnature.net/2009/02/childrens-dictionary-dumps-nature-words/)Old Nature? I didn’t even know there was such a thing. Nature is nature! The thought of removing “acorn” from the dictionary, and replacing it with “blog” or “chat room” strikes me as alarming and preposterous!As our technology evolves at an exponential rate, our language struggles to keep up. According to a CNN article by Ben Brumfield, Oxford Dictionary recently added “selfie” and nominated it as the 2013 Word of the Year. Our technologies are advancing at an alarming rate, and our language needs to keep up the pace.Where I grew up, the acorn is the seed of life. The acorn has been the staple food for California Miwok Indians for over 4,000 years. It is also the staple food in the diets of our deer, bears, squirrels and insects. Acorns contain high levels of fat, protein and carbohydrates, as well as an abundance of phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals. They are delicious. I have learned to process them, and can make some tasty acorn scones.In many cultures, acorn is symbolic of good luck, survival, strength and perseverance.Perhaps if you lived in a land with no oak trees, knowing what an acorn is, may not seem as important as understanding the concept of blogging. I do think it is important to our children’s success that they be literate in computers and technology. I tried to avoid technology, but it put me at a disadvantage in staying in touch with friends and family, and in keeping up with current events. I am truly amazed what we can do with technologies in our daily lives. I also believe that our language needs to keep pace with the changes in technology. In full disclosure, I used an internet dictionary to look up the definition of “blog” before attempting to write one.In spite of this, when deciding what words to include in a dictionary or text book, we need to ask these questions: Whose perspective is this? What story is not being told? Who is not in the picture? What is the consequence of including or omitting a word?Ralph Emerson wrote, “The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.” Perhaps the fact that our forests are disappearing at an alarming rate goes hand-in-hand with the removal of acorn from the dictionary?We need to use some caution and common sense as we interact with our children in this new world. We need to unplug ourselves from the grid once in awhile, and connect with our mountains, trees, farms, rivers and oceans. Act quickly… before all the natural words are taken out of the dictionary!Here is a list of the words removed and the words added into the Junior Webster’s Dictionary:Words taken out:Coronation, duchess, duke, emperor, empire, monarch, decade, 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.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, willowWords 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.What are your thoughts…Acorn or Iphone?
