Why Bon's Soul Is Dying Slowly

Street slang including thang, innit and grrl along with words from the internet such as Wiki and Myspace have been added to an "official" reference for Scrabble players.

Robert Groves, editor of Collins English Dictionaries and editor of the latest wordlist for Scrabble users, said: "The latest edition adds nearly 3,000 new words to the existing quarter of a million available to Scrabble players.

"These additions are an eclectic mix of new technological jargon, overseas English, recent colloquialisms, street slang and a few fairly well-established phrases that had not made it on to the list until now.

"It is the essential reference for all Scrabble players, from tournament enthusiasts to families battling it out in their front rooms.

I admit it, I'm a word snob.  I am not necessarily against the additions (at least, not all of them) but I admit that I'm a bit bothered by grrl and innit.  A few websites have had discussion about the additions, including some who point to how the words are used, and that they are not intentionally dumbing down our language.  I suppose I will have to be content with the fact that our dumbing is purely accidental.

Sigh.