Why dictionaries were invented

The finished work, edited by Simpson and Weiner, fills 22, pages which are bound in twenty substantial volumes. Suddenly a massive, twenty-volume work that takes up four feet of shelf space and weighs pounds is reduced to a slim, shiny disk that takes up virtually no space and weighs just a few ounces. The electronic format has revolutionized the way people use the Dictionary to search and retrieve information.

Complex investigations into word origins or quotations that would have been impossible to conduct using the print edition now take only a few seconds. Because the electronic format makes the Oxford English Dictionary so easy to use, its audience now embraces all kinds of interested readers beyond the confines of the scholarly community.

Today, once again, the Oxford English Dictionary is under alteration. Continuing the technological innovations, the Dictionary is now available as an online publication designed to take full advantage of this powerful and accessible medium.

The content of the Dictionary is also being comprehensively revised. However, instead of adding new material in supplements to the main edition, or simply interspersing new information throughout the body of the old edition, the entire work is being updated. This is the first time material written by Murray and the early editors has been changed since they finished in The result of this ambitious undertaking will be a completely revitalized Oxford English Dictionary.

At no period in its history has the Oxford English Dictionary been profitable commercially for Oxford University Press. However, the Press remains committed to sustaining research into the origins and development of the English language wherever it is spoken.

The remedial work of revising original 19th and early 20th century editorial material is in progress, and the results of the revision programme and additions of new words will be published online every three months. The ambitious goals which the Philological Society set out in seem modest in comparison with the phenomenal achievement which their initiative set in motion.

The Oxford English Dictionary is a living document that has been growing and changing for years. Far more than a convenient place to look up words and their origins, the Oxford English Dictionary is an irreplaceable part of English culture.

It not only provides an important record of the evolution of our language, but also documents the continuing development of our society. It is certain to continue in this role as we enter the new century.

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How it began When the members of the Philological Society of London decided, in , that existing English language dictionaries were incomplete and deficient, and called for a complete re-examination of the language from Anglo-Saxon times onward, they knew they were embarking on an ambitious project.

More work than they thought Existing English dictionaries were incomplete and deficient The new dictionary was planned as a four-volume, 6,page work that would include all English language vocabulary from the Early Middle English period AD onward, plus some earlier words if they had continued to be used into Middle English.

His cause was to make English, especially the great classics, accessible for all readers. His dictionary was the first book to address English as it was written and spoken.

It was the first to include context-based information about English. And, it was the first to attempt to enforce a standard of spelling and grammar upon unruly English, which had no equivalent of an academy to defend its use as proper or improper. There were a handful of glossaries of difficult words, but overall, there was no reference for the English reader to consult words one might encounter on a day-to-day basis. In addition, books were becoming widely available and literacy in England was growing.

Several book publishers got together and commissioned Johnson to compile a dictionary similar to the one created by the French Academy. In France, that effort took 40 scholars 40 years to complete. Its entries were unique in that Johnson used literary quotations to illustrate the meaning of a word. He also incorporated humor into his definitions.

Among his innovations was the inclusion of distinctively American vocabulary. Webster considered etymology important, as evidenced by the fact that he learned twenty-six languages in order to more effectively research origins. He opted to simplify some spellings and to make changes in others to more accurately reflect their phonetic pronunciation.

This publishing tradition has continued, uninterrupted, to this day. Along with new editions with a growing number of entries, the dictionary has also made its way into the digital age. It will digitalize the four inch, thirteen and a half pound, twenty-seven hundred page book.

In the tradition of Noah Webster himself, the company is creating a dictionary that reflects the new world we live in. As such, she was beginning to develop her language skills. New words reflected the environment and ideas burgeoning around her. Although we have journeyed to the far reaches of our borders, we continue to explore new frontiers within our culture.