I was wondering whether 'updation' is correct English or not.
Sample sentence: I was involved in the updation of the website.
asked May 18, 2012 at 15:26
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6 Answers
The word updation was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2018. http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/72885148
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Notice it says "Indian English". This is not part of Standard English.– tchrist ♦Commented May 28 at 17:55
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2The question is being asked by an Indian English speaker. It is part of the formal English register in India in any case. Commented May 28 at 18:37
No, the -(t)ion derivational suffix can't be applied to update. Derivations are almost all irregular, and restricted in the words they can appear on.
Since update is a modern word, it follows the modern English trend of Zero-Derivation, like what Calvin calls "Verbing". Hence, as Shyam points out, the proper noun form of the verb update is also update.
answered May 18, 2012 at 15:38
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Like it or not, the word may be on the path to standardization. It's usage is rapidly increasing: books.google.com/ngrams/…. Commented Apr 12, 2017 at 13:34
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@called2voyage If you also look at the data after the year 2000 you'll see that its usage dropped from its peak at 2005 to zero (0) in 2012. books.google.com/ngrams/…– joxCommented Jan 23, 2021 at 13:55
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Amazing to see how well this has aged. Language is a living organism and shall not be controlled by whims of a one single person. Updation is a word in 2024. Commented Jul 30 at 11:28
Updation is incorrect. This word is mainly used in India instead of updating.
answered May 18, 2012 at 15:39
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18India hereby calls for an updation of the English language :)– GautamCommented Jul 7, 2016 at 11:05
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3I could be wrong: but since the word is in-use in a significant manner; then I believe that means (automatically) the Updation of the English Language has already occurred ! (Since 'Standard' English is decided by actual usage, not prescription; in contrast to the French System, which is decided on by an Academy for instance) Commented Aug 7, 2017 at 12:51
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3@monojohnny: yup, you're wrong. True, 'updation' made its way to wikitionary, but it's some local Indian phenomenon and it does not occur in other places. Europe we still use noun of "update" or "updating" depending on context. "updation" sounds absolutely strange. I understand that the "updation" comes from SQL's CRUD: insert/update/delete/select and the fact that other three words have -tion variants, but it's worth pointing out that "select-ion" exists but does not fit here: the action noun is "selecting (data)" not "(data) selection". For "update" it should be "mutation" not "updation". Commented Apr 9, 2018 at 9:29
It's certainly not Standard English, but I have come across this word before, always in correspondence with IT engineers based in India.
I have a theory that it comes from SQL.
SQL (Structured Query Language) is a programming language widely used in business database systems. It has three main command words: INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE. insertion and deletion are commonly used nouns that describe the actions performed by the INSERT and DELETE commands, and business English users are very fond of words with Latin-sounding endings, so it would be natural for a non-native speaker to extend this group to include UPDATE.
In Standard English, the noun for describing the operation of the UPDATE command is simply update.
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8Yes, I am from an IT background, in India. I have heard it from so many people here, that I'll say that it is very much acceptable in the community of IT workers, but might never be heard of, outside Commented Jun 27, 2012 at 14:39
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1Wikitionary indicates a source of "updation" to be "Indian English dictionary". I am as well pretty convinced that "updation" comes from SQL's classics: insert/update/delete/select, and the fact that all other three words have "-tion" variants: insertion/-/deletion/selection. It's worth immediately emphasizing that the "selection" does not actually fit here (it's "selecting (data)" not "(data) selection"!), but it's not that obvious for ESL people. OTOH, interestingly, the action of "updating" in IT is very often called "mutation". Too bad SQL commetee did not choose insert/mutate.. Commented Apr 9, 2018 at 9:38
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1I've just met this word in the code I'm reviewing. The code was written by an Indian team. I've also found this (India, nonstandard) The act of updating something.– sr9yarCommented Nov 27, 2019 at 6:53
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1Get a load of "upsert" -- a combination of UPDATE and INSERT that performs the latter only if the former matches no extant rows -- and the inevitable "upsertion."– TomCommented Apr 9, 2021 at 5:46
No. Update is the correct noun form. You could say,
I was involved in the update of the website.
OR
I was involved in updating the website.
OneLook finds it in three online dictionaries, although one of them (Dictionary.com) specifically tags it as informal. Wordnik has some quotes using the word, but most of those are from forums and blogs - caveat emptor.
I checked the OED; I couldn't find it there. (If someone can find it in there, I'll gladly make an updation to this answer).
I would say it's not a standard word, but there can be some pretty heated debates in this community about what constitutes a "correct word." Sometimes words can be like stars; it's difficult to tell when and how they were born.
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2The OED added updation in 2018: oed.com/view/Entry/72885148 Commented May 28 at 16:35