Bert writes "'Perl' is one of the words newly added to the Oxford Dictionary of English: Perl. noun [mass noun]. Computing. a high-level programming language used especially for applications running on the World Wide Web. ORIGIN 1980s: respelling of PEARL, arbitrarily chosen for its positive connotations." We first found out this was going to happen some time ago, but now it's been published. It's on the provided list of new words, roughly between "PDF" and "personal video recorder."
Update: 09/02 23:55 GMT by P
The Oxford English Dictionary investigates the origin of the word "Perl" while considering it for an entry in the next edition. Perl will be included and the entry will resemble the entry below.
Perl Brit.
Perl, perl, irreg. PERL
Computing.perl n. ,
arbitrarily chosen for its positive connotations, with omission of -a- to differentiate it from an existing programming language called Pearl. Coined by Larry Wall in the summer of 1987; the program was publicly released on 18 December of that year. Acronymic expansions of the name (such as Practical Extraction and Report Language and Pathologically Eclectic Rubbish Lister), though found in the earliest documention for the language, were formed after the name had been chosen. Coinage details confirmed by personal communication from L. Wall, May 2000. A high-level interpreted programming language widely used for a variety of tasks and especially for applications running on the World Wide Web. The form Perl is preferred for the language itself; perl is used for the interpreter for the Perl language. 1988 J. Vromans Perl Reference Card.
Moreover, the OED is apparently written with Perl. Neat-o...
perl in oed
inkdroid on 2003-08-29T02:22:30
What's more I believe Jesse Sheidlower (Pricipal Editor of the OED) is jest here on use.perl.org!Re:They added it again?
pudge on 2003-08-29T16:25:55
Note the article distinguishes that it was recently PUBLISHED. It was added to what was to be published some time ago, and now, it has been published.Re:They added it again?
babbage on 2003-08-29T16:32:23
Yes, I noticed the disclaimer in the writeup:)
The apostrophe is disappearing from where you would expect to see it (e.g. LETS GO) and is appearing elsewhere (as in the plural PEAR'S).
Nooooooooo!
While I can respect that the duty of the OED is to reflect trends in the language -- rather than try to set them, like the French Academy ["Academe Francais"? sp?] does -- but it really bothers me that this usage is being blessed by the OED.
Every time I see a word like "pear's", it leaves me wondering -- "the pear's what?" Dangling possessives seem worse than dangling participles. Yuck
And then there's this list:
Of course, only a small percentage of these make it into the dictionary; our strict rules for inclusion ensure that only the most important words are selected, while the more ephemeral and poorly evidenced words are put on the back burner. Those that have passed the test include CYBERSLACKER, FATOUSH, BLAMESTORMING, SARS, CANTOPOP, BUPKIS, NOUGHTIES, MUGGLE, and ROBATA.
This reads like one of those lists of pseudo-terms that used to [still does?] appear in magazines like Wired: look how cool & hip we are, we're making up shit now. I mean really, Cyberslacker? Sheesh, lord what fools these muggles be
Man. I think the OED just JUMPED THE SHARK.
(In any case though, I, err, don't actually see the word "perl" on that linked press release. Wrong url maybe? It looks like the full list of new words is available as a 69 page PDF file -- which is, in a way, recursive when you think about it
Re:'s
autarch on 2003-08-29T04:45:22
Well, some of those words are legit. Cantopop at least, can be used for sentences like "Faye Wong is the undisputed queen of Cantopop, and anyone who thinks otherwise is a big fat idiot." A sentence, which is not only grammatically correct, but also factually correct.
Cyberslackers, OTOH, is just lame.
Yeah, and we used Perl too. As do most dictionary publishers.
Anent the apostrophe nonsense, all I can say is http://angryflower.com/bobsqu.gif and http://angryflower.com/itsits.gif
Re:So?
babbage on 2003-08-29T14:05:04
Ooh, what page?I can't find any "djberg96"s in my phonebook.
Yours must be the new edition.
Congratulations!
IMPROPER PLURALIZATION'S
chromatic on 2003-08-29T16:55:20
Surely you mean djberg's, Your's, and Congratulation's.
(ow, that hurts!)
Re:IMPROPER PLURALIZATION'S
vek on 2003-08-29T23:00:15
Surely you mean djberg's, Your's, and Congratulation's.
Huh? I'm sure you're joking but I'm afraid I don't get it. One of those 'you had to be there' jokes eh?Re:IMPROPER PLURALIZATION'S
chromatic on 2003-08-30T07:08:43
Yeah, you had to read babbage's previous post in this story. Those were the days.
:) Re:IMPROPER PLURALIZATION'S
jdporter on 2003-09-08T22:05:49
Surely you mean that hurt's!(ow, that hurts!)I wan't to but I cant.
Let me clarify what is probably the most important thing about this press release, which is that it is not about the Oxford English Dictionary, but rather about the Oxford Dictionary of English, a different work.
As discussed elsewhere in this thread, there has been an entry drafted for Perl for the OED for some time, and it will probably be published later this year. As of this moment however Perl is not in the OED.
I have nothing to do with the Oxford Dictionary of English, so I can't address any issues about this work, such as the relative merits of cyberslacking.
Re:"Perl" NOT added to OED
pudge on 2003-09-02T23:58:51
Thanks so much for the correction. We were all quite worried that the OED had lost is head. Phew. Now I have something new to hate: the ODE.
