'Twerk' dancing and 'selfie' photos added to English dictionary

LONDON (Reuters) - "Twerk", a provocative dance move that has gone viral, and "selfie" a photograph taken of oneself using a phone, are two new words added to the Oxford English Dictionary on Wednesday.

The dictionary has included words such as "twerk", "selfie", "digital detox" and the social media meaning of the verb "unlike" in its latest quarterly update to reflect the increasing use of technology and social media.

Spokeswoman Katherine Connor Martin said the dictionary, which is one of the largest dictionaries in the world and dates back 150 years, adds about 1,000 new entries to its online version every year.

She said the word "twerk" has been around for 20 years but has generated enough evidence of usage to be added to its online dictionaries with U.S. pop star Miley Cyrus hitting headlines this week for "twerking" at the MTV Video Music Awards.

Arising in the early 1990s, the word is described in the dictionary as "a dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance".

"The current public reaction to twerking is reminiscent in some ways of how the twisting craze was regarded in the early 1960s, when it was first popularized by Chubby Checker's song, 'The Twist'," said Connor Martin.

"Only time will tell if twerking will similarly be embraced by the general public."

Other words such as "unlike", the withdrawal of approval on social media, "digital detox", where a person refrains from using smartphones or computers, and "fomo" or fear of missing out - anxiety that an interesting event may be happening elsewhere, have also been added.

"Omnishambles", a situation that has been comprehensively mismanaged, characterized by a string of blunders and miscalculations is also among the new entries, originating from the British political comedy TV series "The Thick of It".

(Reporting by Li-mei Hoang, editing by Paul Casciato)

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China says Xinjiang minorities too busy dancing to make trouble

BEIJING (Reuters) - Ethnic minority people in China's Xinjiang are far more fond of dancing, singing and being good hosts than making trouble, a top official said on Tuesday, dismissing the idea that the far western region is a hotbed of unrest.

Many Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim people who live in energy-rich Xinjiang, chafe at Chinese restrictions on their culture, language and religion, and the region is frequently the scene of deadly ethnic violence.

Last month, 21 people were killed in clashes in the heavily ethnic Uighur part of Xinjiang near the old Silk Road city of Kashgar, the deadliest unrest since July 2009, when nearly 200 people were killed in riots in the Xinjiang capital of Urumqi.

China says it offers broad freedoms in Xinjiang, though few Chinese officials make the effort to learn the Uighur language or understand much about Islam in what is officially an atheist country.

Speaking to reporters in Beijing, deputy Xinjiang governor Shi Dagang said he had worked in southern Xinjiang for more than a decade and never had to carry a gun or have a police escort.

This was the common experience of government officials who are members of the majority Han Chinese ethnicity, many of whom work in areas heavily populated by minorities, he said.

"There is mutual respect by Han cadres and ethnic minorities, and we are friends. When we go into their houses as guests we are treated to meat and wine, with song and dance," Shi said.

"The ethnic minorities are simple-hearted and honest, very kind and unaffected. They love guests," he added. "I hope people don't have misapprehensions and go to Xinjiang and see for themselves."

China dismisses accusations its policies are connected to unrest, saying armed Uighur groups have links to Central Asian and Pakistani Islamist militants, and of carrying out attacks to establish an independent state they call East Turkistan.

"Those minority of people, the violent terrorists, ethnic splittists and religions extremists who want to cause trouble, their organizations are all outside the country, as are their backers behind the scenes," Shi said.

"How could we let this minority of people split Xinjiang off from the rest of the country and destroy this peaceful and harmonious society? It's impossible."

Many rights groups say China has long overplayed the threat posed to justify its tough controls in Xinjiang, which lies strategically on the borders of Central Asia, India and Pakistan.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Robert Birsel)

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