1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910453020003321

Autore

Ogilvie Sarah

Titolo

Words of the world : a global history of the Oxford English dictionary / / Sarah Ogilvie [[electronic resource]]

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge : , : Cambridge University Press, , 2013

ISBN

1-316-08983-5

1-139-79404-3

1-139-77665-7

1-139-78268-1

1-139-12904-X

1-107-25447-7

1-139-77969-9

1-283-74145-8

1-139-77817-X

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xvii, 241 pages) : digital, PDF file(s)

Disciplina

423.09

Soggetti

Encyclopedias and dictionaries - History and criticism

English language - Foreign countries

English language - Foreign words and phrases

English language - Lexicography

English language - Etymology

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Machine generated contents note: 1. Entering the OED; 2. A global dictionary from the beginning; 3. James Murray and words of the world; 4. James Murray and the Stanford Dictionary controversy; 5. William Craigie, Charles Onions, and the mysterious case of the vanishing tramlines; 6. Robert Burchfield and words of the world in the OED Supplements; 7. Conclusion.

Sommario/riassunto

Most people think of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) as a distinctly British product. Begun in England 150 years ago, it took more than 60 years to complete and, when it was finally finished in 1928, the British prime minister heralded it as a 'national treasure'. It maintained this



image throughout the twentieth century, and in 2006 the English public voted it an 'Icon of England', alongside Marmite, Buckingham Palace and the bowler hat. However, this book shows that the dictionary is not as 'British' as we all thought. The linguist and lexicographer, Sarah Ogilvie, combines her insider knowledge and experience with impeccable research to show that the OED is in fact an international product in both its content and its making. She examines the policies and practices of the various editors, applies qualitative and quantitative analysis, and finds new OED archival materials in the form of letters, reports and proofs. She demonstrates that the OED, in its use of readers from all over the world and its coverage of World English, is in fact a global text.