With many elders dying, project to create a digital Hoocąk-English dictionary was an effort to preserve as much linguistic knowledge as possible.

Dubbed “friend dictionaries,” and sometimes couple or sister dictionaries, these words reveal the secret languages people have with those closest to them.

Couples, friends and siblings are unveiling their own secret languages, quizzing each other on their so-called "friend dictionary" in a trend sweeping TikTok.

A new research collaboration between Harvard University and Oxford University Press aims to compile the first fully-formed dictionary of African American English.

In addition to appearing in the Oxford Dictionary of African American English, the entries will also be added to the wider word bank of the Oxford English Dictionary, Professor Gates said.