LATEST NEWS! The Oxford English Dictionary...and fish and chips!

Question: What does the the Oxford English Dictionary have in common with the Tower of London, Monty Python, fish and chips, Sherlock Holmes, and a pint of beer? Answer: They have all just been declared "Icons of England"!

We are delighted to announce that the Oxford English Dictionary has been declared an official "Icon of England" in the latest list announced on 1st August, following a national online poll at www.icons.org.uk.

Following a massive response from the public who have nominated and voted for their favourite national icons, a panel of experts have come up with the new list of 20 icons to be included in the ICONS’ Portrait of England Collection.

As a result, the Oxford English Dictionary now rubs shoulders with other key icons of England - from "Oxbridge" to the White Cliffs of Dover, from Robin Hood to Monty Python, and from the Magna Carta to the Mini motorcar.

The ICONS project, which launched in January 2006, has really caught the public imagination. Funded by Culture Online, part of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, ICONS has attracted more than 350,000 votes for the nation’s favourite icons and more than half a million people have visited the site.

"Choosing the things that most represent England to us, has really got the nation’s creative juices going. People get really fired up and inspired. Judging by the debate on the site, everyone is very keen to argue for their nominations too. It’s great fun. People love ICONS because it is populist as well as 'posh'," says Jerry Doyle, Managing Director of ICONS.

John Simpson, Chief Editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, says "It's great that so many people chose the OED to be part of their picture of England. Like the ICONS programme itself, the OED captures the whole of national life: it chronicles the language that everyone uses - from classic literature and science to personal letters and emails, newspapers, films, cookery books, songs, and web sites. The OED helps us to understand our past, and shows us how we see ourselves and the world today. It is equally appropriate that it has been chosen by the English public because, following the recent agreement with the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, the online edition of the OED is available free of charge to almost every public library member in England."

Read the ICONS’ press release here.