June 2005 Newsletter

Many words and senses of North American origin are included in the June 2005 OED Online update, such as pardner, Parker House roll, pat-down, pasta-fazool, and patootie. North American English is one of the largest categories of World English covered by the Oxford English Dictionary. As readers of OED News will be aware, this is reflected in the existence of a North American Editorial Unit, based in New York, and a North American Reading Programme, both of which seek to improve and increase the OED's coverage of North American English. Less widely known is the existence of OED researchers scattered throughout the United States. Among their number is Pamela Roper Wagner, a library researcher in Washington, DC. In this issue, she writes about how her search to find earlier examples of words sent to her by the OED editors leads her through characteristically American sources ranging from the letters of Benjamin Franklin to modern-day rap music. Alan Hartley, a researcher for the OED Reading Programmes, is based in Duluth, Minnesota. He describes the challenges and joys of his work for the OED.

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