NBC and Oxford

That's it. At long last, Prof Ngo Bao Chau has won the prestigious Fields Medal. The media, as usual, is awash in joy, as it has always been with anything remotely related to the word Vietnam. Which is fine, I suppose, so long as Prof Chau isn't turned into yet another media's darling or cited, again and again, as a testament to Vietnamese's astounding intellectual capabilities. The Vietnamese media, forever in thirst of role models to heap praise on and turn into national pride, tends to blow things out of proportions whenever an opportunity arises. Consider, for instance, Dr Le Ba Khanh Trinh, my former Geometry teacher. His achievements in IMO 1979 have been propelled to the media spotlight for decades and deemed as evidence of a genius in the making. Dr Trinh has, in short, been showered with expectations he himself does not relish. When he falls short of such expectations, imposed upon him by the avaracious media, it seems that all hell breaks loose and people start to talk about just what a pathetic failure he is (he isn't, as any university lecturer with a happy family would tell you).

In any case, there's a language dimension to reports on Prof Chau's achievements. While English newspapers in Vietnam say he's a "Vietnamese mathematician", an AFP report describes him as a "Vietnamese-born" professor. It's really a small detail which makes a big difference, at least to many Government officials.

To end off, here's a list of newly included words in Oxford Dictionary:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE67I26420100819

Bromance: a close but non-sexual relationship between two men

Buzzkill: a person or thing that has a depressing or dispiriting effect

Cheeseball: lacking taste, style or originality

Chillax: calm down and relax

Frenemy: a person with whom one is friendly despite a fundamental dislike or rivalry

Interweb: the internet

Wardrobe malfunction: an instance of a person accidentally exposing an intimate part of their body as result of an article of clothing slipping out of position

Other entries include staycation (holiday in one's home country), bargainous (costing less than usual) and, of course, Vuvuzelas.

Source: http://sgksgk.blogspot.com/2010/08/nbc-and-oxford.html