Google Play Books update brings audio narration to kids titles

Google has been trying to make ebooks accessible to a wider global audience including those who are learning to read. The web giant is continuing its focus on youngsters by launching a set of audio resource tools for children's titles on Google P...

Google will help you pronounce difficult words

Google wants to make it easier to learn word pronunciations. Today, it introduced a new Search feature that will let users practice saying tricky words. When you look up a pronunciation, Google will provide an answer, and when you say the word into y...

‘Bingeable,’ ‘biohacking’ and ‘fintech’ are now officially words

To say that the internet has played a massive role in the shaping of global society is a bit of an understatement, really, but one area that often gets overlooked is its influence on language. Thanks to teh interwebz (bear with me), we're all exposed...

Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year is… an emoji

Oxford Dictionaries' Word of the Year is as much about capturing the cultural zeitgeist as it is reflecting the evolution of the English language, and that's truer than ever in 2015. For the first time ever, the institution chose emoji (the "tears...

Selfie is Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2013


A Selfie is an image one takes of oneself by a smartphone or web camera and then posts on a social media website on the Internet. The word has become quite the rage with Generation Y which loves...

Google expands word definition box, makes looking up ten-dollar words easier

Here's one for the logophiles and the voracious readers: searching for words on Google now returns more than their definitions. So, next time you look up a fancy term, the definition box will also contain its synonyms, sample sentences and a drop-down menu that can translate the word into another language. The new results even give you a glimpse of a word's origins and show a graph of how commonly it's used over time. While a relatively minor update, it's boosted by the addition of a new voice function: when you tap on the Search microphone and ask questions such as "What is the definition of / What are the synonyms of [a word]," a voice will read the first result out loud. All these features are now active on both desktops and Google's mobile Search apps in the US, ready to lend a hand during weekend Scrabble parties.

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Swype Living Language: Crowdsourced Dictionary

The recently released beta of the famous touchscreen text software Swype includes a new feature called Living Language. This optional setting automatically adds trending words to the user’s dictionary, giving your parents a chance to smh at your YOLO shenanigans.

swype living language

According to Swype, Living Language will draw new words from online sources such as the websites of CNN, Yahoo! and Rolling Stone, as well as from other Swype users. Will this lead to memes that only Swype hipsters understand? Will a Swype language eventually emerge? Or will users be flooded with gibberish proliferated by mean pranksters? I’m betting on all of them. Because that’s how I roll. I’m not good at math.

Of course, a list of new words is one thing; actually knowing what they mean is another. Android users who want to be a part of this virtual tower of Babel should head to Swype’s website to download the beta. And get back to me when you find out what “Looper swag Lochte” means.

[via Droid Life via Smarter Planet]

Latest Swype beta brings hotwords, knows what Gangnam Style is

Latest Swype beta brings hotwords, knows what Gangnam Style is

If you've ever been stymied by your Android keyboard's limited grasp on the latest slanguage, don't quail: Swype's latest beta offering for smartphones or tablets may be your saviour. The latest version of the finger-sliding app will feature "hotwords," that keep up with language trends so that if you opt in to receive dictionary updates, you'll never mistype the latest jargon. The new build also brings two more keyboard layouts for tablets, personal dictionary syncing across all of your Android devices, more themes for personalized keyboard styles and additional language support. So, to avoid any catachresis with that latest tweet, hit the source to see how to grab it.

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Latest Swype beta brings hotwords, knows what Gangnam Style is originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Oct 2012 05:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Merriam-Webster announces Dictionary API for developers, coming to a word game near you

MerriamWebster announces Dictionary API for developers, coming to a word game near you

Merriam-Webster just announced its new Dictionary API, which gives developers access to the full dictionary and thesaurus, along with more specialized content like medical, Spanish, ESL and student-targeted vocabulary lists. The API will let app makers integrate word definitions, etymologies, audio pronunciations and more. While this content will no doubt make it into a slew of educational apps, Merriam-Webster says it will also enhance word games, so maybe Scramble and Words with Friends will finally start accepting those obscure three-letter words you have up your sleeve.

Continue reading Merriam-Webster announces Dictionary API for developers, coming to a word game near you

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Merriam-Webster announces Dictionary API for developers, coming to a word game near you originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Jul 2012 15:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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