Wordia

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Wordia is an online visual dictionary which has the published aim of 'redefining the dictionary'. It asks members of the public and celebrity 'orators' to upload videos explaining what words mean to them. The videos are then published on the site alongside the traditional textual definition sourced from the Collins English Dictionary. [1]

The site was founded in 2008 by TV producer Ed Baker, backed by the online entrepreneur Michael Birch [2] and launched at the house of Doctor Johnson, the man behind the first modern dictionary. [3]

Its founders and others have extolled the benefits of having different dictionaries for different audiences. [4] [5] Some parties in the UK have argued Wordia's democratic approach will undermine the quality of the definitions. [6]

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References

  1. "Who Are We". Wordia. Archived from the original on September 20, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-02.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  2. "Birch backs Wordia – a video dictionary? Oh yes". TechCrunch. 2008-09-18. Retrieved 2008-10-02.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  3. Fitzsimmons, Caitlin (2008-09-18). "Dictionary site Wordia enlists celebs' help". The Guardian . London. Retrieved 2008-10-02.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  4. "Power to the people". London: Times Online. 2008-09-23. Retrieved 2008-10-02.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  5. "Johnson would use online dictionaries". London: Times Online. 2008-09-22. Retrieved 2008-10-02.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  6. "Video dictionary: Word wide web". The Independent . London. 2008-10-01. Retrieved 2008-10-02.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)