Tag: 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 ...

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...

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...

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...

“Advanced Linguistics: Introduction to Lexicography” at Buffalo State College By Lisa Berglund, Professor of English The English Department at Buffalo State College has about 30 students in our Master’s program: half are earning degrees in secondary education, a handful plan to apply to PhD programs in literature or culture studies, and the rest are exploring, diverting their minds from the present, or reluctant to leave the security of school. Most students who enroll in “Introduction to Lexicography” do so because it fits their schedules. They have no preconceptions about the course (although they have a lot of preconceptions about dictionaries). There’s usually an OED fan, and someone who thinks dictionaries are cool or who “loves words.” Their course surveys always include variations on “I had no idea how we were going to spend 14 weeks talking about dictionaries” and “This course should be taught more often.”  In the last DNSA Newsletter, Walt Hakala talked about his exciting freshman seminar at the University at Buffalo, noting that because the class was required, he had the...

Progress report for Mixed Blessings: The Dictionary of Blended Religion Tim Stewart Key words: computers in lexicography short-term historical lexicography portmanteau words religion specialized dictionaries My dictionary project turns eight years old this year, and I’m pleased to share a progress report with the Society. My last mention of the project in the newsletter was three years ago when, in a fit of irrational exuberance, I supplied David Jost with the following news item: “Tim Stewart announces the imminent completion of his Dictionary of Blended Denominations, which is due to come out this year” [1]. Well, it’s spring 2019, and the book’s still not finished. The least I can do is pull back the curtain and share a little about what’s been done so far. The dictionary, now titled Mixed Blessings (or MB for short), is a comprehensive collection of 1,500 words I call “blended-religion words” that were formed by combining the names of two or more religions or religious denominations. The vast majority of these blended-religion words are portmanteau words such as bapticostal, bujew, chrislam, conservadox, episcopagan, fundagelical, jubu, lutepisc, mennocostal, methobapticostal,...

ACLS REPORTS Ed Finegan, DSNA Delegate to ACLS The American Council of Learned Societies is doubtless familiar to DSNA members chiefly through its fellowship programs. ACLS is an organization of societies whose members are humanistic and humanities-oriented social science groups. DSNA has been a member since 1994. Each constituent society is represented by a delegate, and the delegates gather each spring for an intellectually and socially stimulating 48 hours. Meeting with scores of colleagues representing other groups, including DSNA members representing other societies, is a privilege. The 2017 meeting (May 11-13) took place in Baltimore, opening on the first evening with a compelling panel discussion called “Who Speaks, Who Listens: The Academy and the Community, Memory and Justice.” Typically, the full Friday begins with the president’s report, and in 2017 Pauline Yu (who has led ACLU since 2003) led off and was followed by “micro reports” from five of the Council’s member societies. There followed the official “Meeting of the Council” at...

Peter Chipman has completed the half-million-word manuscript for a dictionary of Jane Austen’s English, which seeks to define all the words Austen employed in her six canonical novels, in the various senses she used them in, illustrating each sense with an actual sentence from one of the novels. He is beginning to shop the manuscript around to publishers. Rosemarie Ostler's book Splendiferous Speech: How Early Americans Pioneered Their Own Brand of English was published in November 2018 by Chicago Review Press. Using Bartlett's 1848 Dictionary of Americanisms as a starting point, the book explores the main sources of the American vernacular -- the expanding western frontier, the bumptious world of nineteenth-century politics, and the sensational pages of the penny press. It also looks at how Americans gradually shook off their reverence for British linguistic standards and learned to appreciate their own speech. Rob Kyff of the Hartford Courant calls the book "exhilarating." http://www.rosemarie-ostler.com/ Lindsay Rose Russell announces the publication of her first book, Women and Dictionary Making: Gender, Genre, and English Language Lexicography...

In this issue you will find news of the upcoming conference in Bloomington, Indiana. You will also find some new resources for our society including a complete list of headings to all past newsletters. Win Carus has discussed computational lexicography and Cynthia Barnhart has written about the history of our profession. Lisa Berglund tells us how she teaches lexicography and David Vancil describes some very important lexicographical projects. I hope to see you in Bloomington. Joan Hall and the editor in Harvard's Widener Library in front of DARE. For more see Dictionary News. Photo by George E. Hall ...

DSNA 22 AT INDIANA UNIVERSITY MAY 8 - 11 2019 Michael Adams The 22nd Biennial Meeting of the Dictionary Society of North America will begin with a session of papers beginning at 4:00 on Wednesday, May 8, 2019, followed by a celebratory opening reception, and end with a business meeting and a session on Saturday afternoon, May 11, 2019. It will be an intense but satisfying immersion in matters lexicographical and lexicological, and the conference will be worth attending even if you aren’t presenting a paper. I invite you to join us! You can register and arrange a hotel or residence hall room at the conference website: https://www.indiana.edu/~iucweb/dsna/. The Indiana University Memorial Union is the setting for nearly all the conference, and the hotel is part of the Union complex. If you arrive earlier on Wednesday, you’ll feel lexicographical electricity in the air, even though the conference won’t yet have started. Two pre-conference seminars/workshops will take place from Wednesday morning until the opening reception. One of these, Descriptive and Prescriptive Approaches in Lexicography, has been organized by...