Last December The Ministry Today Report noted a few significant culturally influenced changes in Oxford University Press' latest dictionary for children. Now many people are discovering a long-standing American dictionary made a "minor" tweak six years ago that's equally as telling of today's society.
According to Merriam-Webster, the primary definition of marriage is "the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law." Though that definition is similar to the one used in federal law, Merriam-Webster added a secondary definition in its 2003 edition that remains legally rejected by all but two states, calling marriage "the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage."
Still, the publisher denies any political or social agenda to the addition. "We often hear from people who believe that we are promoting-or perhaps failing to promote-a particular social or political agenda when we make choices about what words to include in the dictionary and how those words should be defined," responded Merriam-Webster Associate Editor Kory Stamper. "We hear such criticism from all parts of the political spectrum. We're genuinely sorry when an entry in-or an omission from-one of our dictionaries is found to be offensive or upsetting, but we can't allow such considerations to deflect us from our primary job as lexicographers."
Indicating the rapid cultural shift in recent years, Merriam-Webster failed to include a mention of same-sex relationships in its 1992 edition. Ironically, various editions throughout the early 20th century also included direct references to Bible passages. [worldnetdaily.com, 3/17/09]
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