THE LATEST ATTEMPT AT AN IDEAL DICTIONARY.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 10214, 9 December 1898, Page 2

THE LATEST ATTEMPT AT AN IDEAL DICTIONARY.

BY DR. BEVAN

(Melbourne "Argus," 26th November.)

.There are dictionaries and dictionaries.; An ideal dictionary of the English language .must contain all the words of repute to be found in English books, as well as on English lips. It must supply a standard of .spelling and pronunciation determined by the best usage. Its etymology should steer a safe course between what is certainly known and what may be conjectured in that still somewhat imaginative department of human knowledge. It must include definitions of the words - from their original employment in primitive forms down to the present day. It ought to supply a collection of passages from writers ot recognised classical standing as illustrations of the proper use and meaning of the A work which contains all these features is a very different thing from a mere pocket vocabulary, and yet such a work is an absolute necessity to anyone who employs his language for anything more than the most common and universal interchange of speech.

Towards this ideal the works which have been published since the days ot Dr. Johnson nave steadily advanced. What is wanted is a dictionary which fulfils the conditions which have been mentioned, and at tbe same time is within the compass of the general public, both in size and price—a book which will satisfy the scholar and vet can be used by one who can only claim a fair average knowledge of his mother tongue. Such a book we have in the latest edition of Webster's dictionary, known as ."Webster's International Dictionary." It ia a big book ; it could hardly be anything else when it contains the entire English language, together with very much about every single word of that language. But, largo as it is, it is easily handled. Of course a man cannot carry it about with him as a pocket companion, but it is so well bound, it is so admirably printed and arranged with simple mechanical devices for saving, not only time, but the wear and tear of the pages, that it is hard to conceive of any more convenient volume. Only those who do very much turnim* over of leaves can appreciate the importance of convenience even in the matter, of size. A dictionary needs to put a great deal on the p_<?e, but it also needs a page that does not tako too much room upon a desk. The qditora of Webster have chosen a size which can lie upon a table and at the same time tuA be beyond tho reach ot both hand and eye. And yet the book is not unsightly by lack of suinuiont margin. The collection of words is enormous. Even words of local and limited application, provincial English, and such slang word i or expressions as promise ultimately to engraft themselves on standard English, have a place in the dictk>nary; while the modern words introduced by trade, travel, science, the ever-wideaiing relations of literature, the Press,' and the interchange of nations, have, with great wisdom of choice, been included in the vocabulary. The etymological work of this latest edition has been admirably done.The former edition/in which etymological section* were undertaken by Dr. Maim, of Berlin, wan a very striking advance upon all previous etymological work in English dictionaries. Whatever Were the excellencies of their lexicography, the etymology of English lexicons was very faulty. But the present edition Pj? 8 -* 8 oarvrith an entirely revised and readjusted set of articles. It avoids what was a eerians error in the former editions, where a long list of words in other languages undoubtedly related to the words in question was given, but not aofficieiitly distinguished from the forms of which the word was a' direct descendant. The unwary student was ia great danger of supposing that an English word waa derived from some other language with which, however, it had only a cognate rotation, Thi* has been altogether rectified in the present edition. Etymologistg will necessarily disagree in contraverled derivations, and care has been taken in the pre/ace to call attention to the caution which marks UM etymological suggestions in doubtful E But on the whole the very latest iptes of assured Imguistic relationships Hy recognieed, and even the philological •todent will find not * little that is suggestiwi in these sections.

orthography, and pronunciation of the l.ngliah language have long furnished ceaseJaas material of coirtroversy. Perhaps every eultivatedi apeaker of English and every writer on both these, subjects might find him•elf at issue with persons equally cultured. In general, a conservative position is taken on these questions by the dictionary. Both modes of spiling are given side by side, as hi Dr. Murray's work. The orthographic and orthophonic custom of the entire Eng-liah-apeaking people is being more and more _:__ ■ and -t 'win be found that the modern Webster is in accord with the best usage of the language. .Webster's Dk&onary has always been famous for.its definitions. They give, with great fulness and accuracy, the classification oTthe thing denoted by the word, and so per"roll co-ordroated is the whole work that those who use it may discover even more than a dictiorrary'a riches, they may secure •uch;• information as a good encyclopedia ___? ia* l *""J o*** t0 fanutih.-.by taking the 2l_r « « of tue ntt *ne of any object, and tfl. ° " owin ß U P» in t-e dictionary alone, au tbe words which aro used in such definition, .. i The order, of definitions is also in strict accordance with what should be regarded as a iexicqgraphical law. The original and pramUve . meaning is first given, and the »W fact, of the more usual-use of the word "L t s* Present day is not allowed to sacrifice all the other meanings and usages to itself. J-he relation of these different significations, wo, is woll indicated, and the result is that the articles supply what both a student and a general reader may need. _ But' the, dictionary contains much more than this mere vocabulary. Another fourth i *- , _ >o6k ab lca *t consists of compendiums of yarao. The flags and seals and arms of various nations form a startling and brilliant series of frontispieces. Tho history of the original author and the prefaces, though perhaps a L little local, are yet of value In Mhhography. A long list of writers, from tJhaucer to Swrrdrarne, from "Piers Plow"?2c^ 0 -^ v A s . Stev * n9OD ' fonush a collection of BoW Lnglish writers, we need hardly say of very varied standing and authority, quoted not merely as authorities, but also for the wake of example. The short treatises on tho language, etymology, and pronunciation have been entrusted to competent hands, and a very wise and proper influence has* been accorded to contemporary works in English, in French, and in German, the use of which has been duly recognised. An appendix contains a dictionary of names in fiction and in history which is very lu]U, and has yielded fairly to our examination of it. It cannot be said that every character in every novel is here recorded. This would be not only an impossibility. I lb might also bo a calamity. The Gazetteer, j the Biographical Dictionary, tho vocabularies of proper names in Scripture, in the Greek and Latin classics, and in general use as Christian names aro all very complete. The collections of quotations, phrases, ar-b-trarv sign*, are all useful additions, and the illustrations, which are profusely supplied, are dear, well-explained, and with carefully indicated proportions of sise. It must be recognised that as a work for the general use of English speakers and writers, and the readers of the language, the "International Dictionary" occupies tbe very highest position. Such a work neces~_arUr has its limitations. A philological scholar who desires to pursue an investigation into the history or use of a word must go to many other sources of information, whilo the man who must carry about with -Am a pocket companion to teach him how - to spell the words he wants to use in a letter accepting an invitation to dinner will find himself served by a somewhat less capacious book than the Dictionary, but as a convenient, full, fair, authority, to which a court of justice or a achool, or college, or an ordinary busy man might refer for the usage oiaword, or for the more general facts con*J ect *_. w * t * 1 a person or place, or a subject which anyone may need information or t &_2 it *_J!' tbia •-»* edition of lobster a Dictionary" must be congratu£jg <* succees.^Tba boA be in every family, in every ____?*&_____?& __** could epenl «?»y an inttwesting hatt-hour in merely

turning over its pages. One who knows how to use such a book could find ceaseless instruction, and even entertainment, in its perusal. As a sign of what.the English language has become it is, indeed, highly suggestive. Our language is part of the .heritage of our race. It is more than an instrument which we.may employ; it is a trust which every man should guard. Each man may preserve its purity. Some may even add to its fulness and its strength. The "International Dictionary" contains the record of what this inheritance has become; it is also a faithful guide to those who would discharge their, trust aright. 5509