As one of the youngest editors of a "Big Five" American dictionary, Erin McKean is at the forefront of a new guard of lexicographers reshaping not just dictionaries, but our language itself.
Why you should listen to her:
View Erin McKean's ProfileMuch to Erin McKean's delight, her job as editor in chief of the Oxford American Dictionary involves living in a constant state of research. McKean searches high and low -- from books to blogs, newspapers to cocktail parties, The New Scientist to Entertainment Weekly -- for new words, new meanings for old words, or signs that once-favored terms have fallen out of use. ("Information Superhighway," anyone?) And it's clear that she relishes the hunt.
McKean is also the editor of the language quarterly Verbatim ("language and linguistics for the layperson since 1974") as well as the author of multiple books, including That's Amore and the entire Weird and Wonderful Words series. All that, and she maintains multiple blogs, too: Erin is the keen observationalist behind A Dress a Day and Dictionary Evangelist.
"Ms. McKean is part of the next wave of top lexicographers who have already or may soon take over guardianship of the nation's language, and who disprove Samuel Johnson's definition of a lexicographer as 'a harmless drudge.'"The New York Times
Blog Posts on TED
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Redefining the dictionary: Erin McKean on TED.com – August 30, 2007
Is the beloved paper dictionary doomed to extinction? When does a made-up word become real? And could you use "synecdochical" in a sentence, please? In this infectiously exuberant talk, leading lexicographer Erin McKean looks at the many ways in which today's print dictionary is poised for transformation in this internet era. (Recorded March 2007 in Monterey, California. Duration: 15:41.)
Watch Erin McKean's talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances.
Read more about Erin McKean on TED.com.
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TEDTalks takes a day off – July 4, 2008
The TED.com team in the US is celebrating Independence Day. We won't post a new talk today, but watch for five fresh talks next week. In the meantime, here's an archive gem: Erin McKean on our freedom to coin new words.
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Podcast: A real word, after all – December 7, 2005
No longer just a buzzword, "podcast" has now officially become a word. And not just any word. The New Oxford American Dictionary has declared it Word of the Year. "Podcast was considered for inclusion last year," Editor-in-Chief Erin McKean told the BBC. "But we found that not enough people were using it, or were even familiar with the concept. This year it's a completely different story."
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Web-based ways to make a difference – January 1, 2008
To help those of us making resolutions this week, here is a sampling of web tools for making a difference, inspired by TEDTalks speakers: + Share Ron Eglash's cool math tools, for studying math via breakdancing, Latin beats and cornrow braids + Dive into Richard Baraniuk's Connexions, a massive repository of open-source class materials + Visit Phil Borges' Bridges to Understanding site, which rounds up student films from all over the world + Browse Erin McKean's booklist "So You Want to Be a Lexicographer?" + Check out the beta of Gapminder World, powered by Hans Rosling's Trendalyzer software + Watch video and take action at The Hub, a platform for human rights media and action -- presented by Peter Gabriel's WITNESS + Discuss sustainable design and materials on the Cradle to Cradle forums, inspired by the work of William McDonough + Learn more about Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop per Child + Catch up with Majora Carter's Sustainable South Bronx -- or make a specific gift to SSBx via Changing the Present + Calculate your personal CO2 production -- and start helping the planet -- at the website for Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, produced by Jeff Skoll TEDTalks is full of ideas for making change for oneself and for others -- many more than we can list here. Please share your suggestions for other TEDTalks-inspired change!
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Wordle, an addictive new web toy – June 18, 2008
Jonathan Feinberg, a sometime collaborator of artist Golan Levin (watch Levin's TEDTalk), has given the world an addictive new web toy. Wordle turns any block of text into a word cloud -- like a tag cloud but prettier. It's hard to stop using it once you start. TEDTalks transcripts produce these handsome results:
ABOVE: Erin McKean redefines the dictionary
ABOVE: Murray Gell-Mann finds beauty and truth in physics
