With Microsoft Word 2007 due for release later this year, the development team has recently been finalising the list of locale-specific words to be added to the default spelling dictionary. For this version, Microsoft has decided to expand the global lexicon, recognising such delightful (ahem) ‘Aussie’ slang as ‘bogan’, ‘sheila’, ‘bonza’ and ‘sickie’. Whether such words are still in common usage must be doubted; however, the underlying philosophy seems to be more user-centric than respectful of the Imperatives of Style.

Of course, with such philological experts as Adam Spencer (radio host) and Peter FitzSimons (sports writer), one is hardly surprised that words like ‘jackaroo’, ‘Uluru’, ‘Phar’ (as in ‘Phar Lap’) and ‘Bradman’ will make the list, while more significant signifiers are conspicuously absent.

To this end, I have — in a fit of examination-induced procrastination — created my own list of worthy additions. It is based largely on the contents of my own custom dictionary (add yours in the comments):

• accuseds
• alios
• auquitas
• Callinan
• CLR
• decisis
• declarant
• ejectment
• est
• estoppel
• evergreening
• extracurially
• Gummow
• Hayne
• Heydon
• hypotheticals
• impecuniosity
• inclusionary
• intimidatory
• irrebuttable
• Mareva
• McTiernan
• Nicomachean
• probanda
• profit-à-prendre
• restitutionary
• retroduction
• shew
• unconscionability

I think it reflects poorly on a country whose so-called linguistic and cultural experts are willing to add sporting heroes to a custom dictionary, but not High Court justices. The way I see it, if one is going to sully a dictionary with proper nouns and neologisms, one might as well include the lexicon of the law. Really, how can they include ‘jackaroo’ but not ‘unconscionability’?

Nonetheless, I remain optimistic that these grave omissions will be corrected in time. Who knows, perhaps Office 2007 will finally bring a AGLC-compliant grammatical analysis tool. One can dream!