THE QUESTION OF DICTIONARIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2565, 13 May 1903, Page 70

THE QUESTION OF DICTIONARIES.

I (For the Witness.) Of all the books and works of reference, the dictionary occupies, as it ought to, the first place of importance and usefulness, and it is destined to continue to do 60 in a constantly-increasing degree corresponding with the advance of education. We have only to refer to the columns of the j Otago Daily Times and Witness to be made j aware of this fact by displayed announcements of works of high price of this description offered on terms that bring them, as the phrase has it, "within the reach of all." Although this accommodating offer may increase the circulation of these works, it is open to question whether the i gain in their usefulness keeps pace with ; theii spread. It is to be feared that they j are bought as much for ornament and display as for actual use. I have known book- | worms whose shelves boasted of dictionaries i by Richardson, Ogilvie, Webster, and other giants of philology, in high-priced editions, icfci, when they had occasion to consult a dictionary, to a tattered old seven and sixpenny work. HIGH PRICE v. LOW PRICE It is with dictionaries of the latter kind that this article chiefly concerns itself, for there can be no gainsaying the fact that, whatever needs costly dictionaries may fill, it is in those of moderate price that the gr-eat bulk of English-speaking peoples is chiefly interested. "Pater," in his always interesting and instructive "Chats -with the Bo\ s," recently broached the subject of dictionaries as a reference, which, though very brief, attracted much attention, and, the ice being broken, I venture to follow with a few remarks intended as guides to buyers of dictionaries of moderate price which, it is hoped, will be found to the point. They are not to be taken as a critique of the works mentioned ; but, as general criticism is inevitable, no excuse is needed for its occasional obtrusion ; besides, if there were no criticism, vvhat is bad ■would never be 'good, nor what is good would ever set better. Cheap dictionaries are chiefly consulted for the correct spelling of words, next for their correct pronunciation, then for the meaning of the words, and lastly for their etymology. With high-priced dictionaries the sequence is often reversed. In buying i a dictionary it is to be recommended 1 that • the title page and table of contents be care- ! fully studied, as this gives the buyer a bird's-eye view of the scope of the trork. The clecirness of the print and the quality of the paper should receive some consideration. The binding of the book is an important item. "fhe test of a well-bound book is that, if lying on a flat surface, it stops open wherevei the leaves are parted. It is recommended to open a new book near its centre, turn over 10 leaves or so at a time, till you reach the end on one side of the centre, then go back to the staxt- | ing point in the centre, and treat the other ' part of the book in the same /ray. Never lay down a book upon its open face ; never press with your hand oi anything else upon the bight o[ the book — that is to say, upon its opened face. If the leaves persist in turning back, keep them open by putting one hand upon the edge of the leaves, turning them over with the other hand. This applies particularly to books of many pages, such as dictionaries. One of the greatest defects in cheap dictionaries is the binding, and every care must be taken in handling them, so long as they are new especially, WHICH IS THE BEST DICTIONARY? The answer to this query is very simple : "There is no best." All dictionaries, either high-priced o\ loTV-priced, differ so much from one another that whatever and how many points of excellence any one may contain, these points of excellence do not determine its superiority ovei all others. The reasons for these difference 6 ire manifold, and cannot be set forth in a newspaper article. Suffice it to say that philologists are agreed that • perfect dictionary an never exist. Disappointments on the part of dictionary buyers and users results as often as not from the fact that they expect too much from any one dictionary. Words are being coined every day to meet the momentary whim of scientists, inventors, etc., or the exigencies of commerce, trade, etc. A friend of mine, having read of "tubor tea," "propvdamum," and some other dreadful contortions of lancua^e, came to me one day in a visibly depressed state of mind to consult my dictionaries as to the meaning of these words. Of course, he was disappointed, and it took me a' good time to explain the true position of things to him. "Piter" alvo mentions a friend of his who could not find the word "chauffeur" in any English dictionary. "Chauffeur" is a purp.lv French word — indeed, its very look is French — and as such has no Tight to be taken into an Enelish dictionary. It means "stoker" at a fire en?. ; ne, or the man who bows ibe bellows at a forcre. Rut it has al'-o a historical appl'catirm. In the times of Ln Vendee, during thp French Revolution, marauders to whom the term "cliaunVnrs" was applied roamed over the :ountrv d'strict of France robbine isolated country houses, and torturim; their victims by apnlvinq fire or red-lint irons to their *eet. in order to m:ike them uive nn their money. In this sense thp word mi"lit be given •■ place in an encvclopsedic dictionary. So much for the. mistakes 1 of lictionary users. WORD MANUFACTURE. 1 Tt is a common boast of iictionary-Tn-ikfTs thai: their compilation contains 10,000 t 20,000 words, "as the case may be. more than my others. And so it may. But is their plethora of vords a gain? There are dictionaries that contain upwards of 1000 words made by placing the prefix ''\m" before all words with which .it makes sense or nonsense. Thus we have "unwisdom," which is explained ov "want

of ■wisdom." Then there are such -words as horse-whip, horse-pond, horse-hair, horsefhoe, horseshoe nail, etc. ; milk-pail, milkmaid, mjlkpot, milk-dish, etc. ; Hainan, sea-monster, seaboard, seacoast, etc. This is enough to show how a dictionary may be, and generally is, made to contain so many thousand words more than any other. And let it be borne in mind that these compounds are introduced after each component word has been fully set forth and explained in its proper place. It may be argued that so dictionary could claim to be considered an English dictionary that did not contain such words as horsehair, milkmaid, or many others of this kind ; but it is also true that anybody who has intelligence enough to use a dictionary does not require to be told the meaning, and could perfectly well dispense witn all explanations to that effect. Then there 13 the crank who industriously hunts Latin or Greek words done into English, such as : Zeolitiform, zoophytological, polysyndeton, cephractic, quadriphyllons, and makes them the test words of good or bad dictionaries, according to their presence or their absence in them. Words of this kind are altogether out of place in in English dictionary. This has long since been recognised by compilers and publishers of such works, but to meet the demands and necessity for explanation of such words of posthumous birth, special dictionaries of scientific, legal, medical, technical, and of other than English words and terms have been compiled, and may be bought at moderate prices. SOME DICTIONARIES. English dictionaries, properly so called, are so numerous and generally of such excellence that it is difficult to make a selection, and still more so to recommend any one of them as the best. All that can be done is to mention a few of the longestestablished ones, and point out the distinguishing features that mark them off from their competitors for puuiic favour. In the following list oi dictionaries those of a high price — that is, exceeding by much £I—are1 — are excluded, because, as a rule, people investing five, six, or 20 guineas in a dictionary need no outside advice on the subject. At the same time the line is drawn at the minimum of 2s bd, below which price dictionaries are beyond comment. In a long practice the writer has found dictionaries ranging from 7s 6d to 25s or 30s the most satisfactory at the price, supplementing the stock on ibis shelves from time to time by new editions in order to be posted up to date. In this way he has accumulated: — Ogilvie's "Comprehensive Dictionary," 255, a very useful work, but deficient in words of new coinage in philosophy, science, etc., the dictionary claiming to be an essential English dictionary ; Stormonth's "Etymological and Pronouncing Dictionary," 7s 6d, a capital work on a somewhat different plan from other dictionaries, words of the same family being grouped together in a paragraph, the pronunciation simply marked, and the definitions capital ; Milne's "Reading English Dictionary," which gives i great amount of useful and interesting information about words in a manner that makes it easily remembered ; Collins's "Library Dictionary," 14s, half calf, a good general work; Nu tail's "'Standard Dictionary,' 3s 6d, a very useful dictionary ; AnnandaieOgilvie's "The Student's English Dictionary, Literary, Scientific, Etymological, and Pronouncing," 10s 6d, very useful, notable foi the value and number of its appendices ; and Funk and Wagnall's "Students' Edition of Standard Dictionary of the English Language," 12s 6d, a very good moneys worth of information, well bound' (half morocco), good paper, and capital "letter press. This collection represents a-Dout 30 years' gathering. If the writer were \sked to point out the most desirable of these works, he would fix upon the last-named, Funk and Wagnall's. It contains a wealth .nd variety of information not found in any other dictionary of the same compass and at a similar price. The objection that it is an American production cannot hold good, for it is an extract of Funk and Wagnall's Standard Dictionary, in the compilation of which 247 of the principal philogists of most of the jivilised nations A the world have taken part. In fact, it ian no more be called an American than the latest and best edition of Webster's wild be called a German production, because \t was revised by Dr Malm, of Berlin. It is. a wellknown fact that philolocry receives more attention in America, and German universities than it does in those of the United Kingdom. Next to Funk and Wagnall's Students' Edition, Stormonth's and Annandale's come in, botn as good seconds. For general use as an aid in reading and composition, it will be more satisfactory and serviceable to buy several dictionaries ol moderate price than to confine oneseh to one of great cost. The advantage of having the same word explained in two or more different ways by different dictionaries tends to its clearer conception than if one has to depend upon one only ; besides, two explanations, differing ever so slichtly, impress the memory more permanently than one. There is a number of books more partrculsrlv useful in comoosition which may be enumerated and considered in a future article.