Lexicography

Talk from TED.COM

Erin McKean: Redefining the dictionary

Lexicography - The writing, editing, or compiling of dictionaries.

In this talk the speaker talks about the disappearence of dictionaries and the reasons why they are dissapearing and uses the specific term called Lexicography - the practice of compiling dictionaries. The speaker says the dictionaries are made of little discretes bits of words continues we just need to be perks to compile the dictionaries. why people dont read the dictionaries because they have a very snugly, fussy image of the dictionaries in their mind.

We can not keep all of the good words into the dictionary and keep the bad words out, we need to put some fun into the job to keep it going otherwise we would rather not do that because deciding what word is easy and what words are bad is not very fun. Why do people want me to direct traffic while I would much rather go fishing, I blame the queen but why do I blame the queen because its funny secondly because dictionaries have really not changed the idea of itself since her regime. The speaker says about the computers that computers don't add anything to it except for the speeding up the process its just like victorian design bicycle has an engine on it. Online dictionaries are just like people throwing up on the screen, online dictionaries replicate almost all the problems of print except for searchability and when you improve the searchability it actually takes away one advantage which is serendipity.

Serendipity is when you find the thing u weren't looking for because finding the thing you are looking for is so damn difficult.

After that it concludes that often we do not do the things on our on behalf we just do it because we have been looking the other people doing for quite a long time or may be the childhood. Why do we blame the ham for being too big for the pan, why don't we buy just a bigger pan? the english language is as big as it is and the paper is the enemy of words. I think we should learn all about the words because when we think about the words we can make beautiful expressions from very humble words.

Lexicography is really more about material science we are studying the tolarences out of the words that we use to build the structure of our expression our writing and our speeches because the words are the tools that we use to build the expressions of our thoughts. How can we say that screwdrivers are batter than hammers and the sludge hammers are batter than ball-peen hammers its just a right tool for the job. How do we know that the word is real? Its as simple as in some childerns' book "Love makes things real" if you love the word use it that makes it real being in the dictionary is an artifical-distinction. If you love a word that makes it real.

Even then if we are really confused about any thing we should ask for help because we need help of each other in every single aspect of life. we can find the new words which are not even in the dictionary just by reading different books, newspapers, archives etc. and by finding these words at the end of the day we'll have a long list of un-dictionaried words as the word un-dictionaried itself.

If some one named Mike Oats from UK director of an electroplating company can find the comets without using the telescope why can't we learn the words even its not the rocket science and if we can do that we could stand for the fishing all the time and we won't have to be a traffic cop anymore.

Vocabulary exercise from Speech

Lexicography - the writing, editing, or compiling of dictionaries.
discrete
Synonyms: detached, distinct, diverse, individual, separate
snug - from sungly
Definition: To lie or press close together, usually with another person or thing.
Synonyms: close, comfortable, comfy, compact, cozy, cuddle, cushy, intimate, neat, nestle, safe, seaworthy, secure, sheltered, snuggle, tidy, tight, trim, warm
fussy
Definition: Excessively filled with detail.
Synonyms: chary, choosy, demanding, difficult, fastidious, fidgety, finicky, meticulous, niggling, nit-picking, painstaking, particular, persnickety, picky, quibbling
perk
Synonyms: appanage, benefit, bonus, extra, fringe benefit, gain, gratuity, percolate, perquisite
replicate - To make a copy of.
Synonyms: duplicate, imitate, reproduce, simulate
serendipity - an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident.
dominant
Definition: Exercising controlling power or influence.
Synonyms: commanding, controlling, dominating, dominative, governing,
prototype
Synonyms: archetype, forerunner, model, original, predecessor, sample
constraint
Synonyms: bond, captivity, coercion, compulsion, confinement, distress, driving, duress, force, modesty, necessity, obligation, pressure
artificial
Definition: Made by human beings instead of nature.
Synonyms: manmade, manufactured, synthetic
arbitrary
Definition: Based on individual judgment or discretion.
Synonyms: discretionary, judgmental, personal, subjective
distinction
Definition: The act or an instance of distinguishing.
Synonyms: differentiation, discrimination, separation

context
Synonyms: background, climate, framework, matrix, meaning, situation, substance, vocabulary
synecdoche from synecdochically
Defination: A figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole or the whole for a part, the special for the general or the general for the special, as in ten sail for ten ships or a Croesus for a rich man.