DSNA22 AWARDS FALL 2019

For Connie Eble, recipient of the 2019 Richard W. Bailey Award for Distinguished Service to Lexicography and Lexicology, presented at the 22nd Biennial Meeting of the Dictionary Society of North America, Indiana University, May 10, 2019 Ben Zimmer The Wall Street Journal Photo: Luanne von Schneidemesser On Dec. 4, 2018, Connie Eble sent out an email to a select group of word-watchers, many of whom are in this room this evening. “Dear Friends,” she wrote. “I have just taught my last class at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, to complete fifty years of teaching at the university level. Attached is my final installment of campus slang from my undergraduate students. The 20,000 or so index cards submitted to me over the years will be deposited with University Archives as a permanent record of the slang and campus culture of Tar Heel undergraduates for forty years.” I’m sure there must have been a collective sigh of despair when that email was opened by its recipients. Could this really be...
Read More

DSNA22 MANAGEMENT MEETING REPORTS FALL 2019

At the Conference three Society management meetings were held. Kory Stamper has provided reports of these meetings to the Society. DSNA22 Exec Board Meeting: Luanne von Schneidemesser, Lise Winer, Steve Kleinedler, Sarah Ogilvie, Kory Stamper Missing: Elizabeth Knowles, Ed Finegan, Anne Curzan, Stefan Dollinger, Peter Gilliver, David Jost The DSNA Executive Board met at DSNA22 and heard a presentation given by Gilles-Maurice de Schryver, President of EURALEX, on the aims and goals of EURALEX. The Board agreed that, while the models for North American lexicography were certainly different from many models present in Europe, that the goals and vision of EURALEX to forefront lexicography in public discourse and in new commercial enterprises, and to secure funding for lexicographical projects nonetheless resonated with members of the Board. The Board thanks Dr. de Schryver for his presentation. (For more information on EURALEX, visit euralex.org.) The Executive Secretary then gave a Finance and Membership Report to the Board, which was also given at the general business meeting,...
Read More

DSNA22 PROGRAM FALL 2019

Dictionary Society of North America 22/Studies in the History of the English Language 11 Wednesday, May 8 8:00–3:30        Excursion to the Cordell Collection, Indiana State University 9:00–4:00        Globalex Workshop on Lexicography and Neologism (GWLN 2019), organized and led by Ilan Kernerman (K Dictionaries) and Annette Klosa-Kückelhaus (Leibniz Institute for German Language/University of Mannheim) in the Sassafras Room 9:00–3:30        Seminar on Descriptive and Prescriptive Approaches in Lexicography, organized and led by Edward Finegan (University of Southern California) in the Walnut Room (Participation is by invitation; papers have been pre-circulated) Session 1A: Defining Problems Room:             Walnut            Chair:              David Vancil (Indiana State University) 4:00                 Krista Williams (College of Charleston) and Kory Stamper (Independent lexicographer), “Groups of colors in American and European dictionaries” 4:30                 Paper moved because of cancellation. 5:00                 Orin Hargraves (Independent lexicographer), “Century Dictionary definitions of Charles Sanders Peirce” 5:30                 Robert Krovetz (Lexical Research), “A cross-dictionary comparison of word sense individuation and lexical semantic relationships” Session 1B: The Editor’s Perspective Room:             Persimmon Chair:              Janet DeCesaris (Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona) 4:00                 Brianne Hughes (Bishop Fox), “Self-made lexicographer: How I compiled a cybersecurity style guide” 4:30                 Paul Schaffner (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor), “The ‘new’ Middle...
Read More

INTRODUCTION FALL 2019

This issue of the Newsletter is almost completely a compilation of materials coming out of DSNA22—our conference held at the University of Indiana in Bloomington. These materials include a complete program, reports from the various DSNA meetings, award presentations,  information on the Barnhart and Cordell collections, entertainment, Steve Kleinedler’s presidential speech, and many photographs. You will also find some member news as usual and an obituary for Michael Montgomery written by Connie Eble. For those of you who could attend the Conference, this issue will remind you of the event, and for those who could not attend, it will offer a vicarious experience of the Conference.  ...
Read More
REGISTRATION IS OPEN We're happy to report that registration for DSNA 22 (May 8-11, 2019, in Bloomington, Indiana) is open! Register at https://www.indiana.edu/~iucweb/dsna/ Attendance at DSNA 22 is open to members of the DSNA. If you aren't sure about your membership status, contact the DSNA office at dsnaadmin@gmail.com. We encourage you to register early to guarantee your lodging preference. We look forward to seeing you in May! See https://dictionarysociety.com/conference/ for full details. REQUEST FOR NOMINATIONS - CASSIDY and BAILEY AWARDS At the upcoming DSNA biennial conference in Bloomington, two awards will be presented. These awards honor colleagues of great distinction, and they are named for distinguished colleagues: The Frederic G. Cassidy Award for Distinguished Achievement in Lexicography or Lexicology will be presented to a longstanding member of the Society who has, throughout their career, significantly advanced lexicography or lexicology by major achievements as a lexicographer in research or practice at the highest scholarly or professional standards. [Frederic G....
Read More

PUBLICATION INFORMATION SPRING 2019

The DSNA Newsletter is usually published twice a year, in the spring and fall. The editor is David Jost. Associate Editor is Peter Chipman. Member news items can be sent to dsna.membernews@gmail.com. Other Newsletter correspondence, such as articles for publication, should be directed to the editor at dajebj@gmail.com. Send correspondence re membership, etc. to Kory Stamper, Executive Secretary, DSNA PO Box 537 Collingswood, NJ 08108-0537 This issue:  Vol. 43 No. 1 (2019) Cumulative issue #87 ...
Read More

STATE OF LEXICOGRAPHY SPRING 2019: WIN CARUS

A lexicographic avant-garde Win Carus The Russian Formalist Viktor Shklovskii argues in his Theory of Prose (1929) that at any given time a literary system contains three competing and coexisting generations: the old-timers, the central trend, and the avant-garde. This note will briefly present two representatives of the lexicographic avant-garde -- specifically, lexicographic knowledge bases -- that might provide some new directions for lexicography in general. [V. Shklovsky, Theory of Prose, Dalkey Archive Press (1991).] The two knowledge bases discussed here are the English WordNet (https://wordnet.princeton.edu/) and the NIH Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) (https://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/). It is helpful to position these knowledge bases in the spectrum of structured lexical resources. In particular, consider the various types of knowledge bases discussed by Pieterse and Kourie (2014) as "knowledge organization systems" (KOSs): "In our classification of KOSs we consider the inherent structure of classifications. Classes of KOSs are characterized by the progressive addition of features that enhance the capabilities offered by these KOSs. The...
Read More

HISTORY OF DICTIONARIES SPRING 2019

Thoughts about some dictionary makers and the profession Cynthia Barnhart Sometimes it was difficult to square the story-telling with the usually dignified, serious occupation of editing dictionaries. Generally speaking, my impression from conversation with other dictionary editors and from experience in the offices of Barnhart Books, the process of producing a dictionary was a serious matter: expensive, risky, deadline-driven, producing expected unexpected glitches and, once published, its reception—followed by loud silence. Such concerns notwithstanding, however, dictionary makers whom I have either known well (or simply met once or twice) have always impressed me with their enjoyment of curious collections of dictionary gossip and tales. While thinking along these lines, a couple of chance remarks popped up in my memory inbox where they had been filed and forgotten for quite a while. The first was a comment that roughly summed me up when I was working in another office, that I wasn’t “at all like what we expected.” I don’t know what it really meant but am pretty sure it had more to do with my...
Read More

COLLECTION NEWS SPRING 2019

Two Online Collections, Green’s Dictionary of Slang and the LEME David Vancil I learned as others who follow DSNA’s Facebook page that two important online resources, which previously required a paid subscription to use fully, are now free. Since they are dependent on the contents of lexicons and related material, I thought I would mention them again and add a few descriptive remarks members of the society may find useful. Jonathon Green (Photo credit: Gabriel Green) As of October 18, 2018, Jonathon Green’s Dictionary of Slang has been made available free for research into slang terminology. Not only is it a scholarly resource, but casual word mavens will enjoy simply browsing through it as recreation. I certainly found it great fun. It should be noted the web-based resource is based on and an expansion of his widely hailed massive multivolume work published in 2010. I recall it listed at around $500, which would have put it out of reach of most individuals...
Read More