A Dozen Headaches for Dictionary Advocates In the 21st Century
Lexicography is often reducible to cycling units of information, especially words. It is usually done, especially in what is often called commercial lexicography, with an eye on the clock. Budgets for dictionary projects are usually quite restricting. One consequence of such confinement is the headache of complying with production schedules, often imposed by a publisher. This brief presentation will focus on what such headaches entail and whether or not there is a suitable cure: (1) One of the most important challenges for present-day dictionary editors is the large numbers which accompany collections of evidence. (2) “Where do all the new words come from?” (3) Print, electronic, and Web-based, each have attractors and detractors—what to do? (4) “Doomed-ness” of unabridged dictionaries—reality or dreaming. These four problem areas are of interest but probably not of overwhelming importance to teachers and students. Their headaches include: (5) Why is it here and not there? (6) Why is it neither here nor there? (7) How do I get my students to read the “blankity-blank” front matter? These half-dozen or so issues and more will be discussed; there’s room for your headaches, too.
Note the new location! 524 West 59th Street, room L2.82!
Saturday, February 25, 2012, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
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