Hmm… Social Media Lingos in Collins Dictionary

• Tweet

• Tweet

Earlier this month, Collins Dictionary announced that the word “Twitter” would be included in its next edition.

Now words like ‘noob’, ‘meh’, ‘mwah’ and ‘hmm’ (see definitions below) would also be found in the new dictionary.

These “words” originated from teens who converse regularly through social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Bebo.

Hmm: Pondering

Noob: A newbie

Meh: A sound denoting disapproval

Mwah: Sound of an exaggerated kiss

According to Elain Higgleton, editorial director of Collins, these words would not necessarily be permanent in the dictionary.

“In three or four years a lot of these words may have fallen out of use and might well come out of the dictionary,” she said.

More to Come

With the social networking industry growing so rapidly, more words are bound to be added in the dictionary. Will students be able to use these new words in their future essays? We look forward to a response from the English teachers but I’m guessing they will probably say “meh”.