Collins English Dictionary has seen 267 additions this year. The new words include those considered nothing more than sounds till recently.

Youngsters spending hours chatting online have inadvertently evolved a language closer to everyday speech.

Enormous media coverage of Twitter website, which enables users to post short messages online, Collins has decided to recognise that people actually twitter (v) on Twitter (n).

Words such as ‘hmm’ and ‘heh’ and ‘meh’ (a sound denoting disapproval) and ‘mwah’ (sounding like an exaggerated kiss) are also part of the dictionary now.

For the uninitiated, this is a mildly pejorative term for people unacquainted with social etiquette on the internet, although it is gaining currency in the ‘real world’ too.

The young may have contributed considerably, but the language has been given its share by people of all age groups. Current concerns such as the recession and the environment have also provided fertile ground.

Recession has given the word ‘staycation’, the home holiday; while environmental concerns have led to ‘ecotarians’ (those who only eat food grown in an environmentally friendly, usually organic, way).

Collins officials however say such words may well not be part of the dictionary once they fall out of use, and they may be removed.

Via: Telegraph UK