Thursday, May 12, 2011
New Scrabble Words? Say it ain't so! Or maybe this is a good thang...
By now most of you are well aware of my Scrabble obsession. I'm not sure how I feel about the expansion to acceptable Scrabble words: Scrabble adds 'thang,' 'grrl' and 'Facebook' as official words (click the link to read the entire article). On the one hand, language is constantly evolving (thou certainly concurs), so shouldn't the game reflect these changes? However, are we becoming too lax in the rules if we allow every new slang term and seemingly random two-letter words enter the Scrabble lexicon?
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Although the expansion of words will probably help me when I don't have any letters, some of the new acceptable Scrabble words are words I don't even use as slang or ever. Some of the new acceptable words are just words that mock the English language. Scrabble is supposed to be a game that tests your knowledge of words and strategies. Although it still tests your strategies, just as the words have changed, I think the game has evolved into more than just a game of knowledge, but a game of fake words as well. Maybe the creators of Scrabble just got tired of fake words and denying them that they decided to add them instead.
ReplyDeleteRachel Newman
Pd3
Okay, let me just start by saying that I do not consider "grrl" and "innit" to be real words. Grrl is a misspelled word. Since when are misspelled words acceptable? Innit is the merging of two words, also not acceptable. Web terms are acceptable, web SLANG is not. LOL, BRB, and JK are not words. They are abbreviations!
ReplyDeleteNoah mentioned on Buzz that Facebook and MySpace are proper nouns so they shouldn't be allowed. What do you do about Google? It can be used as a noun OR a verb. How about those words in different languages, huh? I had always thought that Scrabble had to be played at only one language at a time. Then again, the English language has incorporated many foreign words into itself, and THEY are usable. (eg, chi, habachi, gringo, etc)
I don't know, I don't like most of the new additions to Scrabble.
Caterina Golner
Period Two
I consider Scrabble more of a traditional game that requires you to actually think. With all these new words, words that probably don't follow the rules of English, I think that the game isn't the same. It isn't a game that you can sit and enjoy for ours, taking your time to find a word with the highest amount of points.
ReplyDeleteI think that these new words will ruin the game.
Yuval S.
Period 3
I agree with both of you. Scrabble, although I am terrible at it, is one of the few remaining games that actually requires you to think. However, with all of these new words, Scrabble is requiring less and less brain power. Having terms like grrl and innit count as words is rediculous. They are not even real words! It's almost like saying that any sound or term that anyone has ever said is a word, which I don't think is ok. These new 'words' will end up ruining the game.
ReplyDeleteDanielle May pd. 3
I dont think that "slang" words or words like "thang" or "grr" are acceptable for scrabble, it just defeats the purpose of the game. I know that when I play that game with family or friends, what makes the game fun is the challenge to spell words correctly. If mispelled words are now acceptable, than what is the purpose of the game? I think that this destroys the purpose of playing scrabble the "correct way." I know that I wouldn't want to play scrabble with someone who would use slang terms, it just doesn't make sense. (:
ReplyDeleteMeredith Sheldon
P.3
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