Dictionaries via GoogleBooks

Ben Zimmer has drawn my attention to Steven K. Baum's comprehensive list of the dictionaries available through GoogleBooks. You can access it directly at Interesting Schtoff at Google Books or via Language Hat.

Ichishkiin Sinwit Yakama/Yakima Sahaptin Dictionary

The Yakima Herald Republic has a story on a new Ichishkiin Sinwit Yakama/Yakima Sahaptin Dictionary, which will be released next month by the University of Washington Press. The 88-year-old co-author Virginia Beavert is one of only 200 or so remaining speakers of Sahaptin.

If Beyonce can do it, why can't I?

Humorist Alex Horne has a column in the Independent about his quest to place a word of his own coinage in the OED: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/comedy/features/how-to-invent-a-word-1900477.html.

The Barona Inter-Tribal Dictionary

The Barona Cultural Center and Museum in Lakeside, California is currently presenting an exhibit entitled "More Than Words: 'Iipay Aa Tiipay Aa Uumall, The Barona Inter-Tribal Dictionary." The exhibit highlights the first publication of Barona Museum Press, the 696-page Barona Inter-Tribal Dictionary. According to the museum's website, "The Barona people suffered severe language loss through the mission system, boarding schools, urbanization, and assimilation projects. This exhibition features the Museum programs dedicated to cultural preservation and revitalization including the new Language Preservation Program. The exhibition traces the history of the Pai branch of the Yman languages, and gives comparisons on Hokan language in a worldwide context." For more information on the exhibit, visit the San Diego Visitors Bureau at http://www.sandiego.org/event/Visitors/6369; the museum's website (under construction) is http://www.baronamuseum.org/. (The picture shows Barona Tribal Chairman Edwin “Thorpe” Romero, Barona Tribal Councilwoman Beth Glasco, Larry Echo Hawk of the BIA and Barona Tribal Councilmember Charles “Beaver” Curo.)

Hungarian dictionary fined for out-of-date definitions

Konyvmives Konykiado was fined HUF 500 thousand (approx. EUR 1700) by the GVH (the Hungarian Competition Authority) for the deception of consumers. The organization failed to indicate in its publication Hungarian Explanatory Concise Dictionary that the book contained a significant number of archaic expressions, based on previous dictionaries, and that it explained headwords several times with old-fashioned wording rather than in contemporary language. For more details, visit http://www.gvh.hu/gvh/alpha?do=2&st=2&pg=133&m5_doc=6015.

New uses for dictionaries (Yikes!)

"Anti-drug officers in the Caribbean have read between the lines to intercept a disguised shipment of cocaine destined for Europe. The Dominican Republic authorities found several packets of the drug sewn in the lining of dictionaries. The consignment was seized at a post office in Santo Domingo ready to be mailed to an address in Madrid. The country's National Drug Control Agency said the package contained "a white powder that appears to be cocaine." Attempts to bring to book those responsible may not prove easy though, despite the find.
The NDCA officers said a local return address on the package was almost certainly bogus. It is the third time in two months that drugs have been found sewn into book covers or cards bound for Spain." From SkyNews at news.sky.com.

I considered tagging this story "industry news" but I think not.

Getting the Word Out (1)

As DSNA works to foster greater understanding and appreciation of dictionaries and lexicography, I'm starting an irregular feature here to highlight how the organization and its members are contributing to that effort. If you're involved in a project with a pedagogical or popularizing bent, I want to publicize it--so keep me posted.

Here's our first example: DSNA member Arthur Schulman is teaching a short course on "The Pleasures of Browsing Dictionaries" through the Osher Life-Long Learning program this fall at the University of Virginia. Here's part of the course description: "Dictionaries differ not only in the particular terms they choose to define but also in how they define them. The best dictionaries are fun to browse, since they can mentally transport you to places you haven’t visited before. In this course we will explore the pleasures offered by three of them: Samuel Johnson’s dictionary of 1755, with its elegant style and exemplary literary quotations; Noah Webster’s 1828 dictionary, a deeply personal and path-breaking work; and today’s Chambers English Dictionary, with its surprisingly well-developed sense of humor. (Other dictionaries will be sampled as time permits.) Course participants are encouraged to bring to class their favorite dictionaries and any interesting words that have caught their eye during their own browsing."

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.

Dictionary of vanishing fisherfolk dialect

"A dictionary of words and phrases from Cromarty's fisherfolk dialect was published on Saturday, providing a written record of what has been described as one of Scotland's most threatened dialects." To read the rest of the story from the Inverness Courier, visit http://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/9405/.

Dickson Baseball Dictionary reviewed

For the Washington Times's review of The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, visit http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/mar/22/books-baseball-and-evolution-writ-large/.

Dictionaries in the Jury Room (or not)

Broward County Circuit Judge Matthew Destry declared a mistrial Tuesday ... after a juror said he took a dictionary into the deliberations, The Miami Herald reported. To read the rest of the story, visit http://tinyurl.com/d6pzem