World English

technical: normally used only in technical and specialist language, though not necessarily restricted to any specific subject field.

rare: not in normal use.

humorous: used with the intention of sounding funny or playful.

dialect: not used in the standard language, but still widely used in certain local regions of the English-speaking world. A distinction is made between traditional dialect, which is generally to do with rural society and agricultural practices which have mostly died out, and contemporary dialect, where speakers may not even be aware that the term is in fact a regionalism. The Oxford Dictionary of English aims to include the main contemporary dialect terms, but does not set out to record traditional dialect.

offensive: language that is likely to cause offence, particularly racial offence, whether the speaker intends it or not.

derogatory: language intended to convey a low opinion or cause personal offence.

euphemistic: mild or indirect language used to avoid making direct reference to something unpleasant or taboo.

vulgar slang: informal language that may cause offence, often because it refers to the bodily functions of sexual activity or excretion, which are still widely regarded as taboo.

English is spoken as a first language by more than 300 million people throughout the world, and used as a second language by many millions more. It is the language of international communication in trade, diplomacy, sport, science, technology, and countless other fields.

The main regional standards are British, US and Canadian, Australian and New Zealand, South African, Indian, West Indian, and SE Asian. Within each of these regional varieties, a number of highly differentiated local dialects may be found. For example, within British English, Scottish and Irish English have a long history and a number of distinctive features, which have in turn influenced particular North American and other varieties.

The scope of a dictionary such as the Oxford Dictionary of English, given the breadth of material it aims to cover, must be limited in the main to the vocabulary of the standard language throughout the world rather than local dialectal variation. Nevertheless, the Oxford Dictionary of English includes thousands of regionalisms encountered in standard contexts in the different English-speaking areas of the world. For examples, see bakkie, larrikin, ale, history-sheeter,sufferation.

The underlying approach has been to get away from the traditional, parochial notion that ‘correct’ English is spoken only in England and more particularly only in Oxford or London. A network of consultants in all parts of the English-speaking world has assisted in this by giving information and answering queries–by e-mail, on a regular, often daily basis–on all aspects of the language in a particular region. Often, the aim has been to find out whether a particular word, sense, or expression, well known and standard in British English, is used anywhere else. The picture that emerges is one of complex interactions among an overlapping set of regional standards.

The vast majority of words and senses in the Oxford Dictionary of English are common to all the major regional standard varieties of English, but where important local differences exist, the Oxford Dictionary of English records them. There are more than 14,000 geographical labels on words and senses in this dictionary, but this contrasts with more than ten times that number which are not labelled at all.

The complexity of the overall picture has necessarily been simplified, principally for reasons of space and clarity of presentation. For example, a label such as ‘chiefly Brit.’ implies but does not state that a term is not standard in American English, though it may nevertheless be found in some local varieties in the US. In addition, the label ‘US’ implies that the use is typically US (and probably originated in the US) and is not standard in British English, but it might be found in other varieties such as Australian or South African English. The label ‘Brit.’, on the other hand, implies that the use is found typically in standard British English but is not found in standard American English, though it may be found elsewhere.