Dictionary Society of North America

DARE celebrated in the Wall Street Journal

So many bloggers, newspapers and other media have been celebrating the completion of the fifth and final volume of the Dictionary of American Regional English that this blog hasn't even tried to keep up with the plaudits and commemorations. But the article in today's Wall Street Journal,  "Frog Hair to Woolies: Dust Bunnies by 173 Other Names," is particularly good. In addition to finding inevitable pleasure in the diversity of American regional English, it quotes DARE chief editor  Joan Houston Hall and Wordnik founder Erin McKean (both members of DSNA). Plus it has some great interactive graphics and photographs, including this one of founding editor Frederic Cassidy.

Lexicography Society at Columbia University

I've finally caught up with the new Lexicography Society at Columbia, whose messages about lively meetings and speakers have been mysteriously routed to my spam filter! But no more: I am happy to pass along the news that DSNA members Jesse Sheidlower and Madeline Kripke will be speaking this Friday, 17 February, on SCANDALOUSLY SEXY DICTIONARIES: SLANG LEXICOGRAPHY AND THE HISTORY OF THE F-WORD.Jesse Sheidlower will discuss the history of slang lexicography and the incorporation of obscenities in particular. Madeline Kripke will be showcasing some special items from her collection of over 15,000 volumes. Their presentation will take place from 1:00 to 3:00 pm in 709 Hamilton Hall, at Columbia (off Amsterdam Avenue). For more information on the Lexicography Society's meetings, contact the organization's founder and convener, Yin Yin Lu.

Speaking American

The Visual Thesaurus has published an enthusiastic reflection on the late Richard Bailey's book Speaking American. Richard Bailey was a fellow of the Dictionary Society and a former editor of the society's journal Dictionaries. Language columnist Mark Peters writes that Speaking American is "one of those books I wish I could make every prescriptivist grouch in the world read." He also praises "the inspiring scope" of Bailey's project, and "the power of his prose." Speaking American was published by Oxford UP in December 2011.

Writing and Literacy in Early China

DSNA member and lexicographer of Chinese David Prager Branner is co-editor (with Li Feng) of a new collection from University of Washington Press, entitled Writing and Literacy in Early China. The long-term continuity and stability of the Chinese written language allows for detailed study of the role literacy played in early civilization. The eleven contributors to this volume inquire into modes of manuscript production, the purposes for which manuscripts were produced, and the ways in which they were actually used. For more information, visit the press's website.

A troop of baboons

The fact-checking organization Politifact Rhode Island has determined that an aggregate of baboons is not called a "congress," as claimed in a chain e-mail. After consulting dictionary.com, Merriam Webster, and Oxford, which shed no light, and Urban Dictionary, which was apparently updated using the chain e-mail as a source, the reporter sensibly sought the advice of both primate specialists and lexicographers, consulting DSNA President Orin Hargraves. According to the article, the proper term is "troop."  Using the word "congress" casts unfair aspersions on baboons.

Is there a collective noun for dictionary-makers? I propose "a fascicle of lexicographers." The term is both apropos and sufficiently obscure to send folks to their dictionaries.

Pity the harmless drudge

Reblogging is brisk with a New Year's Eve New York Times story about online dictionaries that "leave out the middleman"--"middleman" now being a synonym for "harmless drudge." Ann Eisenberg's story profiles Wordnik, the project of DSNA member Erin McKean, and the Corpus of Contemporary American English, compiled by Mark Davies, a professor at Brigham Young University. The pros and cons of lexicographer-free lexicography are thrashed out among experts including DSNA's William Kretsczhmar, along with Mark Liberman and Geoffrey Nunberg.   

DSNA member creating signs for the homeless

If you attended DSNA's meeting in Montreal this past June, you will remember that the banquet entertainment included Christopher Devine's monologue portraying a door-to-door OED salesman. Here's another side of Chris's eclectic work: the Chicago Tribune has a long article on his project of distributing readable (Helvetica, natch), laminated signs to homeless people in Chicago. Or visit Chris's blog. I had overlooked an article about the project that appeared in last month's New York Times; the photo below is from the Times (Chris is the bespectacled fellow on the right).

Can you really indict a ham sandwich?

Yale University Press has just published Lawtalk: The Unknown Stories Behind Familiar Legal Expressions, which co-author (and DSNA member) James E. Clapp describes as "a collaboration among four scholars with an interest in both law and language [that] explores the origins and uses of scores of law-related words and phrases.  Though accessible and entertaining for general readers, it is notable for its original research and thorough documentation.  Time after time we have traced terms farther back than previously known, often uncovering facts about their origins and evolution that heretofore were unknown, misunderstood, or only guessed at." The other authors are Elizabeth G. Thornburg, Marc Galanter, and Fred R. Shapiro.

Did you know that "ham sandwich" has its own wikipedia page?

 

Splosh means Uncle William

Yes, I gave today's posting a weird title just to mess with your head. I'm quoting an obscure short story ("The Donnington Affair" by G. K. Chesterton) in which Father Brown explains how hard it can be to figure out a language invented by children. Invented languages are now all the rage! Not only do we have Michael Adams' new book From Elvish to Klingon, but here's a story from the New York Times about how Hollywood's quest for science fiction verisimilitude is leading to lots of work for linguists. And where new languages are invented, can lexicons be far behind?

From Elvish to Klingon

Having puffed my own piece on Samuel Johnson earlier this week, it's only fair to take note of a book that arrived in today's mail: From Elvish to Klingon: Exploring Invented Languages by DSNA vice president Michael Adams. There's more about the book on the Oxford UP website.