alohra

Let me preface this by just explaining that I KNOW that I am anal retentive as all hell and that my NEXT journal entry will be all about things that I like, I PROMISE.
Ok, so, in my last journal I wrote that I dislike "the word 'orientate'" and that I do not accept it as an actual word. I now feel the need to clarify this statement, as many people seem to have a problem with it. I actually think that it's kind of bizarre that people would come onto my journal and tell me that my dislikes are "wrong", but that's slightly besides the point.

I explained this best to a man who commented in my journal. He is from Great Britain.

Here is his orginal comment:
"agree and/or disagree with everything you said. But you should know that WH Auden and the Oxford English Dictionary think orientate is a word. I don't like it either, but there we have it".

My comment in his journal is as follows:
"Just because it is correct in Great Britain, does not mean that it is correct in the U.S. Spelling color "colour" is incorrect here, as is spelling grey "gray". Adding -ate to the end of the word is redundant, as it simply makes the word "orientate" mean the exact same thing as "orient". Here are some wonderful articles explaining this further to you. A brief conclusion follows.

Taken from
Washington State University
Although some dictionaries have now begun to accept it, orientate was mistakenly formed from orientation. The proper verb form is simply orient. Similarly, disorientated is an error for disoriented.

From
English Plus
Sometimes people in their speech will form an imagined verb from orientation and say orientate. There is no such word as orientate. The correct word is the verb orient.
Incorrect: Melanie is helping me get orientated to the new job.
Correct: Melanie is helping me get oriented to the new job.

From Bartleby.com
orientate, orient (vv.)
Both verbs, meaning literally to locate east and so adjust to the compass directions and figuratively to adjust to circumstances or situation, are Standard, but American commentators continue to object to orientate (used more frequently by the British), mainly because orient is shorter but also because the figurative use is outstripping the literal one.

From
Tiscali.com
Both originally meant 'to face, or to make something face, the east'. Both are now used to mean 'get one's bearings', 'adjust to a new situation'.
Orient is preferred in American English and in technical use; in everyday British English there is no preference

Taken from Wikipedia's entry on "dictionary"
Since words and their meanings develop over time, dictionary entries are organized to reflect these changes. Dictionaries may either list meanings in the historical order in which they appeared, or may list meanings in order of popularity and most common use.


Call me a prescriptivist if you must, but I think that such changes to common, non-slang words should not be permitted. Of course, dictionaries are only surveys of the general usage of words. Just because a lot of people use the word "orientate" doesn't make them right. Thanks for your comment. punk. whatever"