Webster's back in Menifee schools (kind of) and other reflections on naughty dictionaries

The LA Times reports that Merriam's 10th is back in the fourth and fifth grade classrooms in Menifee County, but parents can restrict their children's access to the dictionaries. The school board says the process worked--um, because no parents attended the school board meeting to discuss the issue. So is this a victory for anti-censorship forces, or inertia? Read the whole story at http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-dictionary27-2010jan27,0,5566022.story.

If you're interested in banned books, visit the American Library Association's page highlighting "Banned Books Week" 2010, coming in October. http://tinyurl.com/yd55duu.

Of course, Samuel Johnson must have the final word on folks who hunt through dictionaries looking for the naughty bits. Though Henry Digby Best's account may be apocryphal, it's worth repeating:

Mrs. Digby told me that when she lived in London with her sister, Mrs. Brooke, they were every now and then honoured by the visits of Dr. Johnson. He called on them one day soon after the publication of his immortal dictionary. The two ladies paid him due compliments on the occasion. Amongst other topics of praise they very much commended the omission of all naughty words. 'What! my dears! then you have been looking for them?' said the moralist. The ladies, confused at being thus caught, dropped the subject of the dictionary.

Menifee school officials remove dictionary over term 'oral sex'

The Press-Enterprise of Riverside and San Bernardino counties in southern California is reporting that copies of Webster's 10th edition have been removed from Menifee school libraries following a parent's complaint about the inclusion of the term "oral sex." The dictionaries originally were purchased for fourth and fifth grade classrooms.

District spokeswoman Betty Cadmus said that this is the first time a book has been removed from classrooms throughout the district. The dictionaries will be reviewed: "It's hard to sit and read the dictionary, but we'll be looking to find other things of a graphic nature," Cadmus said. She explained that other dictionary entries defining human anatomy would probably not be cause for alarm.

Meanwhile, the newspaper reports, some parents are questioning the district's response and some school board members are asking why officials did not consult with them. "Censorship in the schools, really? Pretty soon the only dictionary in the school library will be the Bert and Ernie dictionary," said Emanuel Chavez, the parent of second- and sixth-grade students. "If the kids are exposed to it, it's up to the parents to explain it to them at their level."

For the complete story, visit http://tinyurl.com/y97cs8t.

Dictionary Day (happy birthday, Mr. Webster)

Here's Erin McKean's take, from the column she's now writing for The Boston Globe: http://tinyurl.com/yfa4jbs.

Quoting "the" Dictionary

Those of you who, like me, teach courses in lexicography may find this piece by examiner.com columnist Dave Wilton useful. It offers a brief and well-illustrated discussion of the belief that "the dictionary" is a monolithic and universally comprehensive wordlist. Visit http://tinyurl.com/koha8q.

Webster's Dictionary returned to library after 110 years

Yet it took Ammon Shea only a year to read the OED! For more details on this story see http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/04/12/ont-overduebook.html.