Catherine Sangster from the Oxford English Dictionaries will be at London-based convention Nine Worlds Geekfest. This high profile event will gather thousands of English-speaking geeks from across the UK (as well as the rest of the world). The professional word nerd will also being hosting workshops at the event.

Sangster told STARBURST MAGAZINE, “My own specialism is pronunciation, so I’m also keen to get expert advice and a sense of consensus on how various unfamiliar words are spoken. It’s not only about getting entirely new entries into Oxford Dictionaries, but also about expanding and updating words that are already there. For example, think about what a Fanfic writer means by “ship”, or a knitter means by “frog”: we might not have those senses yet but perhaps we should.”

The Oxford English Dictionary has a long tradition of asking the general public for help when it comes to looking for new words and have an open appeal for help in this regard. The OED has gathered words from geek culture in the past. In 2007, they produced a book called BRAVE NEW WORDS, a historical dictionary dedicated to science fiction, and tracking the earliest usage of words that sci-fi fans now take for granted.

Nine Worlds Geekfest is a residential convention that covers multiple geek related things, from creative workshops and literature to DOCTOR WHO and GAME OF THRONES. It is being hosted at the Radisson, Heathrow, London, UK from August 8th to the 10th, 2014.

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