Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Anniversary of Johnson's Dictionary.

I managed to not notice this, but at least I noticed it in the correct year.

15-Apr-1755 Samuel Johnson published the first truly comprehensive
dictionary of the English language.
This issue
of the oxford journal of lexicography discusses the importance of this.

One of the papers (1) talks about the division of lexicographers
into "lumpers", and "splitters" - "lumpers lump different uses together under single
broadly worded definition" "splitters perceive and record fine distinctions"



(1) (Int. Journal of Lexicography vol. 18, no. 2 Johnson and Modern Lexicography Patrick Hanks.)