Our society is engaged in a constant transformation, building and modifying former ideas in attempt to facilitate our cultural divergences. Ideas once thought immutable are now being changed and adapted to better fit our growing society. Language is no exception. The purpose of language is to remedy misunderstandings within a culture, so that communication can become easier. Today’s technological era has made it more accommodating for communication to occur. As our society progresses into this era, language can be no different: it must be adapted with society so that it can better serve its community.

Language varies with location in that it is unique to the diversity of its setting. The Cornell community is one of the most varied campuses in the world. A computer-based Dictionary of Local Usage at Cornell was created in order to reflect the variance in the population. It represents the different types of people on the campus. Only certain words that are restricted to the Cornell community should be depicted by this dictionary. A word that is unique to our campus is the word "prelim." Prelim is defined as, "a preliminary examination; a test other than the final exam. This word was attested only at Cornell University, hence making it suitable as an entry. Another word that is exclusive to our area is the word "Dragon Day." This word by all means belongs to Cornell. The meaning of the word is "a day in April devoted to demonstrating the mild rivalry that may exist between Cornell engineering students and architecture students through an on campus ritual, enacted as a form of entertainment." Both these words are what the basis of our dictionary is trying to do. It enables us to express our society through the words we use. The reason why our dictionary is so exclusive is that it represents our society; it elaborates on the diversity and uniqueness that is our campus.

Because this dictionary is restricted to this area, common words should not be accounted for. Only those words that are unique to Ithaca should be included, so that "outsiders" can understand the dialect spoken here. Allowing these mundane words would strip away from the solitary of the dictionary. Some common words, however, are entered because the definition is somehow warped to mean something entirely different. An example of this would be the word "boot." The common definition of the word is "any article that covers the foot and cushions it from the ground; must cover entire foot." At Cornell, the word takes on an entirely separate definition; here "boot" is defined as "to vomit or expel solids or liquids from the oral cavity." Because the definition has drastically changed from the trite one, it is can be submitted in the dictionary. This dictionary reflects its age, and since today’s society is rapidly progressing, the dictionary must be adapted to suit its time period.

One of the things that should not be included in this dictionary are proper nouns. Proper nouns detract from the whole purpose of a dictionary. They deserve to be part of a map or diagram, rather then a dictionary. Naturally a professor or lecturer will be exclusive to our campus, however, they can not always be used in a sentence. An example of a word that does not belong in our dictionary is "Robert Cohen." The definition of this word is that he is the author of the novel, Milk: The Deadly Poison. Why this is in our dictionary is beyond me, however, it should be noted that there was no regulation regarding entries. Some proper nouns should be included in this dictionary. Those are the ones that describe something in a less traditional way. For instance, "Big Dick" should be in the dictionary because it is a slang word that cannot readily be understood, if one was outside of the Cornell community. The word is the short hand way of saying as Clara Dickson Hall, the largest Dormitory in the Ivy League University system and the Largest Dormitory East of the Mississippi river. Words such as this are more then welcome in this dictionary, as long as those only at Cornell can understand it.

Our Electronic Online Dictionary reflects the changing time periods that we have encountered. This computer-based system helps to change and evolve our language more swiftly, as opposed to the conventional reprinting of it. It is most helpful with word organization, which is essential with any dialect. Those who are part of this community should be able to contribute to the database of this dictionary, so that it can constantly be updated as the language alters. It gives "outsiders" a common book in which they can communicate with Cornell. It helps integrate students and others into our community. It advocates diversity, yet creates a common link amongst people. A computer based dictionary helps keep language in pace with the changing society, and should reflect the community in which it was created.