LEADER 05403nam 2200673 a 450 001 9910780050103321 005 20230823204732.0 010 $a1-282-75196-4 010 $a9786612751967 010 $a1-4008-2135-5 010 $a1-4008-1384-0 024 7 $a10.1515/9781400821358 035 $a(CKB)111056486503548 035 $a(EBL)581669 035 $a(OCoLC)700688710 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000146205 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11157340 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000146205 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10182436 035 $a(PQKB)10964694 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC581669 035 $a(OCoLC)51580116 035 $a(MdBmJHUP)muse35976 035 $a(DE-B1597)446076 035 $a(OCoLC)979581289 035 $a(DE-B1597)9781400821358 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL581669 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10035829 035 $a(CaONFJC)MIL275196 035 $a(EXLCZ)99111056486503548 100 $a19940401d1994 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurnn#---|u||u 181 $ctxt$2rdacontent 182 $cc$2rdamedia 183 $acr$2rdacarrier 200 10$aEmpire of words $ethe reign of the OED /$fJohn Willinsky 205 $aCourse Book 210 $aPrinceton, N.J. $cPrinceton University Press$dc1994 215 $a1 online resource (269 pages) 311 0 $a0-691-03719-1 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. [239]-249) and index. 327 $tFront matter --$tContents --$tPreface and Acknowledgments --$tAbbreviations --$tChapter 1. Introduction --$tChapter 2. At Trench's Suggestion, 1858-1878 --$tChapter 3. Murray's Editorship, 1879-1915 --$tChapter 4. Shakespeare's Dictionary --$tChapter 5. Citing The Shrew --$tChapter 6. A Victorian Canon: The Authors --$tChapter 7. A Victorian Canon: The Titles --$tChapter 8. A Supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary, 1957-1986 --$tChapter 9. Modern Citation --$tChapter 10. The Second Edition, 1984-1989 --$tChapter 11. The Sense of Omission --$tChapter 12. A Source of Authority --$tAppendix of Tables --$tNotes --$tReferences --$tIndex 330 $aWhat is the meaning of a word? Most readers turn to the dictionary for authoritative meanings and correct usage. But what is the source of authority in dictionaries? Some dictionaries employ panels of experts to fix meaning and prescribe usage, others rely on derivation through etymology. But perhaps no other dictionary has done more to standardize the English language than the formidable twenty-volume Oxford English Dictionary in its 1989 second edition. Yet this most Victorian of modern dictionaries derives its meaning by citing the earliest known usage of words and by demonstrating shades of meaning through an awesome database of over five million examples of usage in context. In this fascinating study, John Willinsky challenges the authority of this imperial dictionary, revealing many of its inherent prejudices and questioning the assumptions of its ongoing revision. "Clearly, the OED is no simple record of the language `as she is spoke,'" Willinsky writes. "It is a selective representation reflecting certain elusive ideas about the nature of the English language and people. Empire of Words reveals, by statistic and table, incident and anecdote, how serendipitous, judgmental, and telling a task editing a dictionary such as the OED can be." Willinsky analyzes the favored citation records from the three editorial periods of the OED's compilation: the Victorian, imperial first edition; the modern supplement; and the contemporary second edition composed on an electronic database. He reveals shifts in linguistic authority: the original edition relied on English literature and, surprisingly, on translations, reference works, and journalism; the modern editions have shifted emphasis to American sources and periodicals while continuing to neglect women, workers, and other English-speaking countries. Willinsky's dissection of dictionary entries exposes contradictions and ambiguities in the move from citation to definition. He points out that Shakespeare, the most frequently cited authority in the OED, often confounds the dictionary's simple sense of meaning with his wit and artfulness. He shows us how the most famous four-letter words in the language found their way through a belabored editorial process, sweating and grunting, into the supplement to the OED. Willinsky sheds considerable light on how the OED continues to shape the English language through the sometimes idiosyncratic, often biased selection of citations by hired readers and impassioned friends of the language. Anyone who is fascinated with words and language will find Willinsky's tour through the OED a delightful and stimulating experience. No one who reads this book will ever feel quite the same about Murray's web of words. 606 $aEncyclopedias and dictionaries$xHistory and criticism 606 $aEnglish language$xLexicography 606 $aEnglish language$xEtymology 615 0$aEncyclopedias and dictionaries$xHistory and criticism. 615 0$aEnglish language$xLexicography. 615 0$aEnglish language$xEtymology. 676 $a423/.028 700 $aWillinsky$b John$f1950-$01093798 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910780050103321 996 $aEmpire of words$93674463 997 $aUNINA