Oxford to make ‘African American Dictionary,’ reveals first 10 words.

Oxford Is Creating an ‘African American Dictionary,’ and the First 10 Words Were Just Announced

Get ready to expand your vocabulary! Oxford University Press, one of the world’s leading publishers of English-language dictionaries, is working on a new project that aims to define 1,000 terms associated with African Americans. The Oxford Dictionary of African American English is set to be released by March 2025, and it’s already generating buzz.

“That is the best of both worlds, because we want to show how black English is part of the larger of Englishes, as they say, spoken around the world.”

The dictionary’s editor-in-chief is none other than Harvard University academic Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr., a renowned scholar of African American history and culture. The project includes words that range from slang to references to black history and music, all of which are integral to black culture.

Here are the first 10 words that have been announced:

• Grill: a removable or permanent dental overlay, typically made of silver, gold, or another metal and often inset with gemstones, which is worn as jewelry.
• Bussin: an adjective meaning “tasty or delicious” or alternatively “busy, crowded, or lively.”
• Cakewalk: an easy task, with origins from slavery. A contest in which black people would perform a stylized walk in pairs, typically judged by a plantation owner.
• Promised Land: a place where people can find freedom.
• Aunt Hagar’s children: a biblical phrase used to describe black people.
• Ring shout: a circular group dance with spiritual connotations.
• Pat: to tap one’s foot.
• Old school: characteristic of early hip-hop.
• Kitchen: black hair at the base of the neck.
• Chitterlings: a dish of pig intestines.

These words are just a taste of what’s to come. The dictionary’s authors are accepting suggestions from the public, so if you have a word you’d like to see defined, be sure to submit it for consideration.

It’s unclear whether the project’s definitions will be published in the form of a printed dictionary, but one thing is for sure: this project will add depth to the English language and educate a broader audience on the meaning of English terms associated with the African American community.

Source: The Western Journal

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