A History of the Chambers Dictionary / / Mariusz Kaminski.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter DGBA Backlist Complete English Language 2000-2014 PART1
• VerfasserIn: Kaminski, Mariusz,
• Place / Publishing House: Berlin ;, Boston : : De Gruyter, , [2013]; ©2013
• Year of Publication: 2013
• Language: English
• Series: Lexicographica. Series Maior : Supplementbände zum Internationalen Jahrbuch für Lexikographie , 143
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (297 p.)

In the literature on English lexicography there have been few attempts at a systematic study of the history of popular dictionaries that have been around for many years in English-speaking countries. A dictionary like Chambers deserves special attention because of its long tradition that goes back to the nineteenth century. Although it has gone through numerous editions, its history has received little attention from scholars. The book traces the development of the Chambers Dictionary from its origins to the present time by comparing corresponding parts of successive editions of the dictionary. This comparative approach aims to determine major trends in the evolution of the dictionary. It will provide scholars and interested students with insights into the Chambers lexicographers’ work, the goals they aimed to achieve, and the problems they had to face when revising the dictionary.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Acknowledgements -- Contents -- Editions of Chambers, in chronological order -- List of tables / List of figures -- Introduction -- 1 Methodological and theoretical foundations of the analysis -- 2 The founders of W. & R. Chambers publishing house -- 3 The origin of the dictionary -- 4 Biographical notes on the editors -- 5 Educational beginnings: Chambers’s Etymological Dictionary of the English Language (Ch-A, 1867) -- 6 Towards the optimal arrangement of entries -- 7 The selection of morphological forms -- 8 The growth of vocabulary -- 9 Defining meaning -- 10 The order and discrimination of senses -- 11 Etymology -- 12 Usage labels -- 13 Syntagmatic and paradigmatic information -- 14 Pronunciation -- 15 Outside matter -- Conclusions -- Appendices -- Sample 1 -- Sample 2 -- References -- Index