Culture

Oxford is Creating an African-American English Dictionary

From the partnership of the Oxford English Dictionary and nd Harvard University’s Hutchins Center for African and African Americans, there will soon be a dictionary based on the language from the culture and its history.

The dictionary is a part of a three-year research project and Henry Louis Gates Jr. was named the Editor-in-Chief.

“Just the way Louis Armstrong took the trumpet and turned it inside out from the way people played European classical music,”  Gates said in The New York Times, adding that Black people “reinvented” English “to make it reflect their sensibilities and to make it mirror their cultural selves.”

The project was funded by grants from the Mellon and Wagner Foundations.

The dictionary will not only define words but explain where they came from. To get the origins, research was done through letters, books, magazines, and more.

“This massive project draws upon decades of scholarship from the most sophisticated linguists, especially those colleagues who have graciously joined this project as members of our advisory board, as well as the vast academic resources at Harvard’s Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, and the crowd-sourced contributions of speakers of African American English as well,” Gates said.

William Carter

Recent Posts

#NewMusic: Ari Lennox Celebrated Her Birthday with New Song ‘Soft Girl Era’

Ari Lennox gifted fans on her birthday with her new track "Soft Girl Era," then…

4 days ago

#NewMusic: Amerie Makes Musical Return with ‘Mine’

After a long-awaited hiatus, Amerie is making her highly anticipated return to the music scene…

4 days ago

#NewMusic: Rob Murat & Maya Elizabeth Heal Through Harmony on ‘All I Can Say’

In a world where music serves as both an escape and a source of healing,…

7 days ago

Spike Lee Calls Ryan Coogler’s Film ‘Sinners’ Starring Michael B. Jordan: ‘Black Cinematic Power’

From Ryan Coogler, the acclaimed director of Black Panther and Creed, comes Sinners, a gripping…

4 weeks ago

TERRELL Hosts First-Ever TERRELL Show Concert Featuring Coco Jones

A Friendship Built by a Blue Wall: After years of interviews and hard work, The…

4 weeks ago

Kevin Ross to Head on ‘Love Uptempo Tour’ Following ‘Love in the Middle’ Song Release

Kevin Ross is set to tour across the U.S. starting this Saturday in St. Louis,…

1 month ago