Information Access: Dictionaries

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Information AccessDictionaries

• Dr. John V. Richardson Jr., Professor
• Department of Information Studies

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Presentation Outline

• Ownership of Dictionaries
• Definition and Function
• Types of Dictionaries
• Historical Development
• Levels of Rules
• Surface
• Intermediate
• Deep
• Evaluative Standards and the Review of Specific
  Titles

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Dictionary Ownership,Personal and Otherwise

• What are the titles of dictionaries that you own?
• How many own an abridged vs. unabridged?
• Vital Title, 6th out of 12 places (Bonk, 1963)

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A Definition

• Literally a wordbook
• a book of words explained in alphabetical
  order, Webster (1806)

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Another Definition

• a book containing a selection of the words of a
  language, usually arranged alphabetically, giving
  information about meanings, pronunciation,
  etymology, inflected forms, etc. expressed in the
  same or another language (RHDEL, 2nd ed.)

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A Final Definition

• a reference book containing words, usually
  alphabetically arranged along with information
  about their forms, pronunciation, functions,
  etymology, meaning, syntactical, and idiomatic
  uses (W3rd)

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Functions of a Dictionary

• Monitor of the language and report upon it
• Change. Need time-stop photograph of the
  language
• More changes nowin a relatively short time than
  since Elizabethan era. Guralnik
• Stands or falls on its words, not the non-lexical
  features

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Non-lexical Entries (1806)

• Websters dictionary contained
• table of money
• table of weights and measures
• time divisions
• list of Post Offices
• Number of inhabitants
• Chronological table of events

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Non-lexical Entries Today

• RHDEL (1st ed., 1966)
• signs and symbols directory of colleges and
  universities basic manual of style list of
  major reference works major dates in history
  presidents and vice-presidents of the United
  States Declaration of Independence and the
  Constitution of the US Charter of the United
  Nations Concise French, Spanish, Italian and
  German dictionaries Continents of the world and
  Coastline measurements of the word Major deep
  oceans and seas of the world and principal bodies
  of water Islands, volcanoes, deserts, and
  mountains peaks and nations and states of the US
  along with national parks of US and Canada. And
  an atlas and gazetteer

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The Philosophical Debate

• Are you
• A Historian or
• A Critic?
• Prescriptive versus Descriptive Dictionaries

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Prescriptive Dictionaries

• Samuel Johnsons Dictionary of the English
  Language (1755)
• Critically oriented
• English, like every living language, is in a
  state of progression, as rapid now as at any
  former period even more rapid than before the
  great Dr. Johnson flattered himself that he might
  fix the language and put a stop to alterations.
  -- Noah Webster

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Descriptive Dictionaries

• Oxford English Dictionary (1884)
• Historical oriented

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http//WWW.OED.COM

• 750,000 terms
• 2.4 million quotations
• 9,000 new words
• quarterly updates through 2010 (3rd edition)
• 55 million revision project

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Historical Development of Dictionaries

• Samuel Johnsons work took nine years between
  1746 and 1755
• 6 assistants, but only 3 or 4 at a time
• 40,000 definitions
• 114,000 quotations
• Compared to the Italian and French efforts
• 20 years for the Italian
• 55 years for the French (40 members/editors)
• New English Dictionary (1888-1920 10 volumes)
• 7 years before the first volume appeared, 2,000
  scholars

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Historical Development in the US

• Noah Webster (d. 1841), father of American
  dictionaries
• There is a well-known Websters (Cleveland) as
  well as the
• G. and C. Merriam Company (Springfield, MA)--now
  known as Merriam-Webster (http//www.m-w.com)
• bought the Websters dictionary from Websters
  heirs
• However, Websters is a public domain word

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Educational Common Ground

• Websters dictionary establishes American English
  (1828)
• Defined our culture
• Combined with universal education, Webster helped
  to create a common ground

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Ethical Advertising?

• This book is not published by the original
  publishers of Websters Dictionary -- or by their
  successors.
• SOURCE Dear Abby, LA Times, 15 October 1987,
  Part V, p. 4.

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Five Types of Dictionaries

• General English language dictionaries for
  students and adults
• Special purpose dictionaries (such as
  acronyms--ALA)
• Research dictionaries
• Foreign language translating dictionaries (such
  as Cassells)
• Subject dictionaries (for sociology,
  anthropology, LIS, or law)

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Role of Special Dictionaries

• More likely to have newest words
• Highly specialized in technical areas
• Accuracy. Fuller treatments, added descriptive
  matter
• Illustrative quotations from authorities
• Balance. Unbiased.

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How Dictionaries Come into Being

• Result of a series of Sprachgefuhl decisions by
  the
• Editorial Staff (biases, interests, and
  prejudices)
• Sources for compiling word list
• control list (which must be in any dictionary)
• new words (from TV, popular magazines,
  newspapers) -- AHs cyberpunk
• older words (from books role of paid readers)

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Dictionary Piracy

• Control list
• The history of English lexicography usually
  consists of a recital of successive and often
  successful acts of piracy..
• SOURCE Sidney Landau, Dictionaries The Art and
  Craft of Lexicography

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Deciding about Scope

• Unabridged
• Greater than 450 to 500 K
• 250 K is commonly advertised as such
• 20 over exaggeration is considered sporting
• English language dictionaries
• 600K, Webster's 2nd (recognized in many US
  courts)
• 500K Century
• 458K, Funk and Wagnall's(aimed to have all the
  live words)
• 450K Websters 3rd
• 414K, OED
• 260K, RHDEL 1st

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Deciding about Definitions

• Ordering (first or last)
• historical (Websters) -- development of the
  language
• frequency (RHDEL) -- most common first
• random (Websters 20th century)
• Number of words per entry
• Narrow or broad (see next slide)
• Connotative versus Denotative (home domicile vs.
  warmth and comfort)

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Troublesome Definitions

• Longman Dictionary of English Language and
  Culture (1993)--
• Bangkok, Thailand a city famous for its temples
  and other beautiful buildings, andalso mentioned
  as a place where there are a lot of prostitutes.
• The publisher drew information from a wide
  range of sources and it did not influence or
  create new definitions
• SOURCE Straits Singapore Times, July 1993, p.
  14.

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Troublesome Definitions continued

• On behalf of the Microsoft Corporation, Robbie
  Bach apologized to Thai newspaper editors for the
  offensive way in which Encarta 2000
  characterized Bangkok as a commercial sex center
  in the British version.
• SOURCE USA Today, 24 February 2000, Section D,
  p.3.

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Narrow or Broad Definitions

• For example, compare these two definitions
• the organ of the body that is the seat of
  emotions, logic and personality.
• the main organ of the body located in the head

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Pronunciation

• How do you pronounce nuclear? Harassment? Which
  is correct?
• M-W Collegiate Dictionary (10th ed.) vs. American
  Heritage College Dictionary
• International Phonetic Alphabet
• one symbol per sound
• need a key to interpret it
• Who decides? In the United States? Or elsewhere?

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The Académie Française

• The Academicians, 40 celebrated writers, founded
  by Cardinal Richelieu in 1635.
• Maurice Druon, honorary perpetual secretary
• The principal function will be to work with all
  possible care and diligence to give definite
  rules to our language and render it pure,
  eloquent, and capable of dealing with arts and
  sciences.
• Guarding the language for more than 350 years, it
  has three rules

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Decisions about Etymology

• History of a word
• was strawberry really named by children who
  strung the berry on a strand of straw, hence the
  name?
• Its presence suggests a scholarly audience for
  the dictionary
• Specialized dictionaries
• OED (1150 AD to the present)
• Partridges Origins

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Decisions about Levels of Usage

• Judgement of the Editorial Staff
• Any statement on usage is a judgment rather than
  a report, based on the comprehensiveness of the
  evidence, the skill and experienced discernment
  with which it has been classified, and finally,
  on linguistic perspicacity of the one making the
  statement. -- Dr. Ives
• Labels
• dialect, idear slang, rod or a mick standard
  versus non-standard (aint as a test word) field
  of specialization colloquial regional -- creek
  or harassment terms such as niche, the use of
  prioritize or the phrase Members of the League
  of Women Voters manned the booth
• Ordering preferred first or most frequent first

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Websters Third New International Dictionary

• In 1961, Philip Gove, rejected artificial
  notions of correctness or superiorityhis
  intent to be descriptive and not prescriptive.
• Atlantic Monthly called it a scandal and
  disaster
• In response, American Heritage appointed 200
  leading writers, artists and thinkers who decide
  which words and usages are proper.
• SOURCE They Also Serve Who Vote on Aint,
  New York Times, 23 December 2006, p. A31.

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Decisions about Neologisms

• What do MVVD, Eurocreep, nopo, brain-fingerprintin
  g, and bed-blocking have in common?
• Part of 140 novel words which are candidates for
  the next edition of Collins Gem English pocket
  dictionary.
• Dictionary makers must decide whether such terms
  will have any lasting usage in order to make it
  into the next edition...

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The French Solution

• Each ministry forwards foreign terms to the
• Ministry of Cultures Commissariat of Terminology
  and Neology, which recommends
• Courriel for email
• Coussin de sécurité for airbag
• toile d'araignée mondiale for the WWW (literally,
  cob web world)
• Nikes Just Do It! says Allez-y! at the bottom
  of every ad
• SOURCE http//french.about.com/b/a/007936.htm
• SOURCE http//www.linux.france.org/prj/jargonf/T/
  toile_d_aposaraigneace_mondiale.html

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Aint

• Considered scandalous when first entered into
  Websters New World Dictionary of the American
  Language published by World Publishing Company of
  Cleveland, Ohio
• Editor, David B. Guralnik
• Added it to the dictionary in 1951

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Decisions about Illustrations

• Look at the American Heritage Dictionary or the
  new Encarta World Dictionary

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When To Use a Dictionary, and not an Encyclopedia?

• detailed information about language
• basic information about words
• versus
• basic information about concepts
• extended discussion of concepts
• SOURCE Richardson, KBS for General Reference
  Work (1995)

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Professionally Accepted Criteria

• I. Authority
• II. Scope, Purpose, Objectives
• III. Vocabulary (next slide)
• IV. Word Treatment
• V. Supplementary Material
• VI. Format
• SOURCE ALA Booklist Manual

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Vocabulary
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Standards for Subject Dictionaries

• I. Authority
• II. Coverage
• A. Definition of Subject
• B. Purpose of Compilation
• C. Definition of Audience
• D. Basis for Selection
• E. Methodology
• III. Arrangement
• IV. Accuracy and Timeliness
• V. Word Treatment
• SOURCE Compilation by Instructor

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Just a Gentle Reminder!

• Remove the disk now!