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Death of a Dictionary? Or an Abduction?

March 21, 2012, 12:01 am

By Allan Metcalf

Something odd has happened to Websters New World Dictionary, the dictionary of choice for journalists. Its still there, like the grin on the Cheshire cat, but its body the editor and editorial office seems to ha!e !anished. "he dictionary is still listed by its adopted publisher, #ohn $iley % Sons. &rom $iley, or from Ama'on or your friendly local bookseller, you can still get a copy of Websters New World College Dictionary, fourth edition, in print or on C()*+M. "heres e!en an i,hone and i,ad app that came out in !ersion -.. last September. (espite all that, theres no e!idence that anyone has /orked to keep the dictionary up to date in the past couple of years. As recently as 0112, Websters New World seemed in good health. &rom the dictionarys office, in Cle!eland, at the end of that year, the editor, Mike Agnes, announced that the /ord of that year should be distracted driving. 3ou can see him say so in a 3ou"ube !ideo. But since then the office has been closed, and Agnes is no/here to be found. 4e is out of touch e!en /ith le5icographers and linguists /ho kne/ him /ell. I!e sought in !ain for definiti!e information about the dictionarys current condition. Se!eral people at $iley told me theyd find out and let me kno/, but none of them has. +ne person said a ne/ edition /as in the /orks for 01.-, but that seemed to be contradicted by this March 6 announcement7 8#ohn $iley % Sons Inc. 9 has retained Allen % Company ::C to e5plore the sale of a number of consumer print and digital publishing assets in its ,rofessional;"rade business that no longer align /ith the companys long)term strategies. "he assets are in tra!el <including the /ell)kno/n &rommers brand=, culinary, general interest, nautical, pets, crafts, $ebsters >e/ $orld, and Cliffs>otes.? If Websters New World becomes moribund, it /ill end half a century during /hich it reigned as the dictionary of reference for most journalists. It came to that position not so much because of /hat it /as, but because of /hat it /asnt. Back in the .2@1s, Websters New World /as the (a!id that sle/ the Aoliath of dictionaries, Websters New International Dictionary, Unabridged. "hat one /as published by Merriam)$ebster, the nations most distinguished maker of dictionaries and direct heir of >oah $ebster, Americas foremost le5icographer. "he Bnabridged /as a single !olume of some -,111 pages, /eighing more than .1 pounds. Its second edition <.2-C= held a place of honor in ne/srooms, schools, and libraries. Areat /as the e5citement /hen a third edition /as announced for .2@.. But the e5citement turned to shock /hen re!ie/ers disco!ered that the "hird /as reporting actual usage rather than prescribing proper language. It e!en had an entry for aint that did not totally condemn the /ord7 8though disappro!ed by many and more common in less)educated speech, used orally in most parts of the B.S. by many culti!ated speakers esp. in the phrase aint I. >o longer could you say 8Aint aint in the dictionary.? Life, for e5ample, declared7 8$ebsters, joining the say)as)you)go school of permissi!e Dnglish, has no/ all but abandoned any effort to distinguish bet/een good and bad Dnglish.? (/ight Macdonald, in a famous New Yor er re!ie/, urged /riters and readers to keep using the Second in order to a!oid the corruption of the "hird. Many did. Careful re!ie/ers noticed that the Second hadnt been entirely prescripti!e, either, and in fact contained definitions e5coriated for permissi!eness in the "hird. But the mood /as set, and to admit reliance on the "hird /as like confessing to possession of pornography. So /hat /as a journalist to doE "here had been a fe/ e!ents and in!entions since the Second Bnabridged of .2-C, so an up)to)date dictionary /as needed. But not a Merriam)$ebsterF &ortunately, there /as a company in Cle!eland, $ebsters >e/ $orld, that had no connection /ith Merriam)$ebster and that published a nice, up)to)date college edition. <"he name $ebster isnt trademarked and can be used by any dictionary.= So the non)Merriam became the book of choice.

http://chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca/2012/03/21/death-of-a-dictionary-or-abduction/

5/14/2012

Death of a Dictionary? Or an Abduction? - Lingua Franca - The Chronicle of Higher Edu... Page 2 of 2

+!er the decades, the shock !alue of $ebsters "hird has dissipated, but it ne!er regained its pre)eminence. It has a place in ne/srooms, but just second place. According to the A' (tyleboo , 8If there is no listing in either this book or Websters New World College Dictionary, the backup dictionary is $ebsters "hird New International Dictionary, published by Merriam)$ebster Inc.? And, editors being conser!ati!e, its likely t#at Websters New World /ill remain fore!er the chosen dictionary as long as it doesnt disappear, grin and all.
"his entry /as posted in Arammar, Mistakes, Style, $ords. Bookmark the permalink.

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jffoster 1 month ago

Aood riddance. *egnat ,opulusF

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art_of_nurture 1 month ago

In a /orld that is content, e!en self)satisfied, to say things such as Gan hatG and, G4e pounded the tin can flatly,G I ha!e hung onto my New World that /as purchased in .2HI.

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Jonathon Owen 1 month ago

IJm not sure ho/ one can say that $ebsterJs >e/ $orld is preeminent or is the (a!id that sle/ Merriam)$ebsterJs Aoliath. If itJs preeminent, itJs only in the niche of ne/spaper editing. Some relati!e sales ranks from Ama'on7 Webster!s New World College Dictionary7 K0@,000 Webster!s "#ird New International Dictionary7 K...,-@6 $erria%&Webster!s Collegiate Dictionary7 K.,H@1 3es, $>$ outsells $-, but one is a college dictionary and one is unabridged. ItJs not really a direct comparison. &urthermore, $- is fifty years old. But $erria%&Webster!s Collegiate blo/s iL$ebsterJs >e/ $orld out of the /ater. >o editing job IJ!e e!er /orked at has used Webster!s New WorldM theyJ!e all used $erria%&Webster!s Collegiate.

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Co$yright 2!12. %ll rights reser&ed. The Chronicle of Higher Education 1255 Twenty-Third St, N.W. Washington, .C. 2!!"#

http://chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca/2012/03/21/death-of-a-dictionary-or-abduction/

5/14/2012