HarperColllins looks to Bebo to find top teenage slang words

by Maisie McCabe, mediaweek.co.uk 13-Feb-09, 11:00

LONDON - Publisher HarperCollins has asked social networking site Bebo to help find the most commonly used teenage slang words in the UK for a 30th anniversary edition of the Collins English Dictionary.

Words likely to be included are bare (a lot of), seen (cool), fiend (addicted to something) and hater (a negative person).

A panel of 14 to 18-year-olds decided on a shortlist of words that has been divided into six categories. Bebo's user base can now vote for the words which should be included.

HarperCollins will research where the most popular words come from and decide which are suitable for inclusion.

Kate Burns, managing director and vice-president Europe at Bebo, said the fact that Collins English Dictionary has approached Bebo reflects the "growing value of the voice of its community".

Burns said Bebo's strong UK youth base means its audience is well placed to offer the most "accurate assessment" about popular street language.

Cormac McKeown, head of content at Collins, said teenage slang is "notoriously hard" to pin down if you rely on the "normal channels"; and by the time it's filtered into mainstream speech, it's too late, young people have stopped using it.

McKeown said the findings from the Bebo community will give HarperCollins the chance to keep track of an "exciting part" of the English language that usually goes unrecorded.

The slang words to be included in the dictionary will be released by Bebo in the summer.