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Book Cover
Book
Author Ogilvie, Sarah, author

Title Words of the world : a global history of the Oxford English dictionary / Sarah Ogilvie
Published Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2013
Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press, 2013
©2013

Copies

Location Call no. Vol. Availability
 MELB  423.09 Ogi/Wot  AVAILABLE
Description xvii, 241 pages, 8 pages of unnumbered plates : illustrations (some colour), charts, facsimilies, portraits ; 24 cm
regular print
Contents 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
Summary "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."--BLACKWELL'S
Analysis Australian
Notes Includes index
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 213-232) and index
SUBJECT Oxford English dictionary. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n85201132
Subject Encyclopedias and dictionaries -- History and criticism.
English language -- Etymology.
English language -- Foreign words and phrases.
English language -- Lexicography.
English language -- Foreign countries.
LC no. 2012015672
ISBN 1107021839 (hardback)
1107605695 (paperback)
9781107021839 (hardback)
9781107605695 (paperback)