The Dictionary and its use

by Andrew Scott

Today students, teachers and every literate person throughout the world use one dictionary or the other when they are confronted with any problem regarding the meaning, pronunciation and the use of words.

It is quite interesting to record that even with all the highly sophisticated modern technology and equipment available today the traditional use of the dictionary has not been completely done away with in any country.

However, it is quite surprising that a majority of dictionary users, particularly in the Asian countries such as Sri Lanka and India, though they use a variety of dictionaries, are not aware of the long and chequered history of the English dictionary which forms a unique story in man's civilisation.

Literary history records that the first dictionary 'A Dictionary of the English Language' was compiled by Dr. Samuel Johnson in 1755 and his arduous work was spread over a period of seven years. He wrote the details of 40,000 words carefully including their meanings and use.

According to his biographer, Boswell, the compilation of this new dictionary opened vistas in the usage of the English langauge throughout the world. It is said that most of the work in connection with the compilation of his dictionary was carried out by Dr. Samuel Johnson in his humble house off Fleet Street, London. This house had been rescued from demolition and is now the Samuel Johnson Museum.

In his famous preface to his dictionary Dr. Samuel Johnson observed: "The chief intent is to preserve the purity and ascertain the meaning of our English idiom."

While dealing with his dictionary it is also useful to reflect on the life and activities of this great man who exerted a tremendous influence on the use of the English language.

Samuel Johnson, the son of a book-seller, was born in Staffordshire. He had studied for a very short time at Oxford but was compelled to leave that place due to poverty and he left to London and started life as a teacher and writer and wrote profusely to the Gentleman's Magazine, one of the most popular magazines during his time.

In 1765, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate by Trinity College, Dublin and ten years later, in 1775, he was awarded another Doctorate by the University of Oxford.

Today he is widely known as Dr. Samuel Johnson, the compiler of the first English dictionary. To begin with, as in all other pioneering works of human endeavour, there was a lot of criticism about his dictionary though it portrayed the complexity of the English language and the usage of words more accurately than any earlier attempt to bring out a dictionary.

In the modern world replete with unique technological developments and skills the compilation of dictionaries is ably assisted by the ready availability of computer techniques and the electronically stored massive collection of texts. But at the time pioneers like Dr. Samuel Johnson worked in the compilation of the dictionary everything had to be done manually and much depended on the forensic skills of the dedicated workers which required an enormous amount of personal commitment on the part of workers at all levels who had to sacrifice so much on their part.

Another dictionary giant worthy of note is Noah Webster who published the American Dictionary of the English Language in 1828. A revision of his dictionary appeared in 1847 and Webster's International Dictionary and Webster's New International Dictionary appeared in 1909. These dictionaries too were attacked by various critics who did not agree with Webster's analysis of the meanings of some words.

In 1857, the Philological Society of Great Britain came to an agreement with the Oxford University Press to publish a new English dictionary and it took over 20 years for this project to see the light of day in 1879.

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) was produced in 12 volumes spread over the next 44 years and it comprised 15,487 pages. From time to time this dictionary as much as other dictionaries have been revised.

A pioneering lexicographer who did a memorable service in the compilation of the English dictionary was James Murray, a self-educated son of a village tailor, who served as Editor in the compilation of several editions of the English dictionary.

Murray was born in 1758 at Connecticut and graduated from the Yale University.

Initially he worked as a teacher, clerk and lawyer and published his dictionary when he was about 70 years.

Today there are thousands of specialised dictionaries, glossaries and encyclopaedias published throughout the world in several languages.

In the modern world the printing and publishing of dictionaries has entered the world's book market to such a great extent that dictionary publishing has turned out to be a big business throughout the world.

There is no doubt that in spite of the computer age and its connected developments the world has seen recently, dictionaries will be used as long as man wants to make himself truly literate and as long as languages are used by man to express his ideas.

At the same time we cannot forget the pioneering efforts of the early dictionary compilers such as Dr. Samuel Johnson, Webster and Murray.