Cycle News

P34 IN THE WIND BIKERS DEFINITION CHANGES PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREA WILSON I n a step forward for the public's perception of motorcycle riders, the publishers of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) – viewed the world over as the final arbiter of the Queen's English – have had to drop references to "long hair" and "dirty denims" in its definition of "bikers" after motorcyclists complained. According to a report in Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper, the Oxford University Press, which publishes the OED, bowed to pressure from Britain's two-wheeled community, who claimed the description was outdated. The online version of the dictionary had previously defined the word "biker" as "A motorcyclist, especially one who is a member of a gang: e.g. a longhaired biker in dirty denims." However, figures show that far from the "long-haired and dirty denim" stereotype, just nine percent of male British bikers now have long hair, and furthermore, almost half (42 percent) are completely free of tattoos, piercings, facial hair or gang markings. Oxford University Press has now changed the Oxford Dictionaries Online definition of "biker" to: "A motorcyclist, especially one who is a member of a gang or group: e.g. a biker was involved in a collision with a car." In a poll of 524 British motorcyclists organized by leading bike insurance firm Bennetts, 65 percent spend the majority of their time riding alone - and not as a "member of a gang." Of those polled, 74 percent believed the old definition was inaccurate; with 21 percent saying they were "outraged and offended" by it. Over half (60 percent) believed the old definition is "dated and irrelevant," and just two percent said it was "correct and accurate. Bennetts' data shows today's British biker is most likely to be aged over 35, middle class, working in IT or telecoms and likely to ride a Honda. Whether commuting or riding as a hobby, the image of a "biker" has changed somewhat from that of a Hell's Angel as imagined by Oxford academics. Oxford University Press spokeswoman Nicola Burton was quoted as saying that the change No more "long hair" and "dirty denims" in the Oxford Dictionary definition of biker. to the definition was made "to reflect a minor shift in contemporary use of the word "biker." Our research suggests "biker" is now more closely aligned with "motorcyclist" than words such as "Hell's Angel." We also updated the usage example, which is intended to provide an illustration of how the word could be used in a sentence. Oxford Dictionary's definitions are based on evidence of language usage. They are not meant to prescribe how language should be used, but instead describe language as it is used by the majority of its speakers, based on our objective research." Alan Cathcart

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