Twitter: How a blue bird redefines the dictionary

"Let the great world spin forever down the ringing grooves of change." ~ Alfred Tennyson

The world is in a constant process of change. Language itself is steadily evolving to adapt and to better fit our needs; the recent news that Twitter was to gain three entries into the dictionary brought it to the front of my mind.

Social networking sites have emerged as high earning marketing tools. The addition of Twitter to the dictionary is a distinct comment on society. Having read an article late last year about a children's dictionary being reformed, the trend is increasingly clear: the practical replaces the natural in what seems to be a contemporary model of abstract words.

I'm all for adding words to the dictionary, but not at the expense of others. Since most people will check a dictionary for a definition of a word they don't understand, I'm curious to know how the publishers decide which ones get the chop when they're making these new entries. Perhaps they merely shorten the definitions, drowning out the small, tremulous sounds of a bird, and entirely replacing them with a social networking micro-blogging service.

Dictionaries are invaluable to history, providing a reliable snapshot of the language in a world led by ever-changing technologies and institutions. How many of these linguistic novelties will survive? I am sure most will hold fast (although hopefully we'll see the back of the 'l33t' speak - that's a trend that needs to die a horrible death).

My personal belief is that language should be functional, but it should not be expunged of its rhythm or beauty. Twitter has earned a place in today's dictionary: I simply hope there's range for both blog and birdsong.