Dictionary vandalism?

[KenCunningham]

You may be interested in this thread on the ('Manchester', showing my age) Guardian's site:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/14/books-dictionary-culture

It does seem a shame that they are cutting out the 'old' for the 'new', but I suppose things must move on. One contributor makes the point 'why have a distinct childrens dictionary at all?'

I want to be good, is that not enough?

 

[strongm]

'Catkin' must have been subversive; seems to have had to be removed twice ...

 

[SantaMufasa]

Frankly, from my very philological beginnings, Children's (or "Junior") Dictionaries were a waste of my time...they never seemed to have the words in which I was interested, and they always seemed to "talk down" to their readers.

So, I suggest that we, early on, teach kids a love for, and appreciation of, real dictionaries. <smile>

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]
“Beware of those that seek to protect you from harm or risk. The cost will be your freedoms and your liberty.”

 

[GSCaupling]

Aside from the loss of the plain euphonious vocabulary ... (emphasis added)

I chuckled a bit at this. I don't consider "euphonious" to be "plain" vocabulary (nor particularly pleasant sounding, for that matter).

And, as a Nerd-American, I object to Porter's objection to democratic and database.

Santa, I agree with your sentiment about real dictionaries, but I recall as a child the fine print in those big grownup reference books being very intimidating. Perhaps by starting with a junior dictionary the kids will learn to appreciate the exploration of language and be drawn to the full edition when they are ready.

I still have my 1965 "New Vest Pocket Webster Dictionary" from which I just now learned, on page 25, what the hell a catkin is.

It does not, however, include an entry for "dyslexic." Of course, that word should probably be listed in several places.

GS

[small][navy]**********************^*********************
I always know where people are going to sit. I'm chairvoyant.[/navy][/small]

 

[2ffat]

So, I suggest that we, early on, teach kids a love for, and appreciation of, real dictionaries.

I know the teachers appreciate real and unabridged dictionaries when they assign writing definitions as a form of punishment for bad grammar, spelling, behavior, etc.

Quick! What word in the English language has the most definitions? (Knowledgeable teachers assign this word when they really want to punish their students.) The answer in somewhere in this forum since we've talked about it before.




James P. Cottingham
^{I'm number 1,229!
I'm number 1,229!}

 

[Stella740pl]

Quick! What word in the English language has the most definitions? (Knowledgeable teachers assign this word when they really want to punish their students.) The answer in somewhere in this forum since we've talked about it before.

Spoiler

Should be either put or set.

 

[mmerlinn]

[&nbsp;]

Quick! What word in the English language has the most definitions? (Knowledgeable teachers assign this word when they really want to punish their students.) The answer in somewhere in this forum since we've talked about it before.

I think the word you are looking for is "love". However, it has been too many decades since I saw this question come up, so I could very well be wrong.

mmerlinn

http://mmerlinn.com

"We've found by experience that people who are careless and sloppy writers are usually also careless and sloppy at thinking and coding. Answering questions for careless and sloppy thinkers is not rewarding." - Eric Steven Raymond

 

[Stella740pl]

By the way, will we be told the correct answer to the question?

 

[strongm]

Most sources seem to indicate that it is the second of your two candidate words. Certainly it has significantly more definitions in the OED than any other word (and almost twice as many as your first candidate word)

 

[2ffat]

[hide Answer]Set[/hide]
Sorry, I completely forgot about this thread.


James P. Cottingham
^{I'm number 1,229!
I'm number 1,229!}

 

[Stella740pl]

strongm and 2ffat,

Thanks.