Dictionaries: The art and craft of lexicography [Hardcover]

Sidney I Landau (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1984 | ISBN-10: 0684180960 | ISBN-13: 978-0684180960 | Edition: 1ST

In this book the author draws on over 20 years' experience of dictionary publishing to give a comprehensive and entertaining guide to the process of creating a dictionary. He explains key elements of dictionaries and other language references, and looks at problems of definition and usage.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Here is a new thing under the sun: a virtually exhaustive treatment of lexicography by a single author qualified for the task by long practical experience and a strong and trained lexicographical intelligence. I can hardly think of a single detail of any aspect of lexicography which anyone, specialist or non-specialist, will not find treated here attentively, skillfully and profitably. Dictionaries should be required reading for all lexicographers and can be heartily recommended to everyone else who cares to know what dictionaries are like and how to use them to best advantage.' The Times Literary Supplement

'Landau's style is not only lucid and precise - as one would expect from a man with more than 20 years' experience in dictionaries, a former editor in chief of dictionaries for Funk & Wagnalls and Doubleday - but it is also witty and considerate. Landau anticipates reader problems and includes definitions to technical terms in parentheses. This is a book you will want to consult before buying your next dictionary, whether it is for a child, a college student, a foreign speaker or someone with a specialized interest, such as slang.' Philadelphia Inquirer

'Landau has created what may be the best book ever published for the teaching of lexicography. It has just the right mix of simplicity and complexity! The author combines accessibility for the novice with professional considerations of interest to those already in the discipline.' Dictionaries

'Dictionaries is thorough, balanced, and entertaining to read.' American Speech

'Written from an insider's viewpoint (as a lexicographer of eminence, Landau scarcely needs introducing), it should be read - and read carefully - by all wouldbe and practising reference librarians, English teachers, writers, editors, and reviewers ... The style of Dictionaries, by the way, is so superior to that of most professional writing as to suggest that a great many productive scholars in library and information science would do well to study and imitate Landau's rhetoric.' Booklist

'The first comprehensive book on English dictionary-making ... Landau's book is interesting enough and well enough written to be read with pleasure and profit by anyone with a professional or lay interest in language.' Language

'Consistently informative and never ponderous, this book conveys an abundance of detail with wit, grace, and style.' Choice

'Sidney Landau has lucidly and articulately set down an excellent presentation of some of the tangled questions faced by those who work with dictionaries ... Dictionaries is the most informative and useful book on the subject.' Verbatim --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description

In this book the author draws on over 20 years' experience of dictionary publishing to give a comprehensive and entertaining guide to the process of creating a dictionary. He explains key elements of dictionaries and other language references, and looks at problems of definition and usage. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 370 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; 1ST edition (1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684180960
• ISBN-13: 978-0684180960
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,951,890 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Qualified Five Stars, May 16, 2007

By 

Randy Given (Manchester, CT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dictionaries: The Art and Craft of Lexicography (Paperback)

This deserves a qualified five star rating. Qualified, in the sense that you need to have some interest in lexicography and history. Not a degree, mind you, but more than a distant interest. At times, it does get a little long-winded, but stay with it. Some interesting stories and good insight into a world that we often don't see, but we use its results quite frequently. Fairly easy to read, no more difficult than high school reading materials (probably easier than that). Give it a try, at least start and browse.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging, entertaining and of course informative, June 7, 2010

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I. Holder (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dictionaries: The Art and Craft of Lexicography (Paperback)

Second Editon review.

Highly unlikely to climb the best-sellers list, more's the pity, this is a most engaging, entertaining and of course informative read about how dictionaries are created. But it covers much more than that: within Sidney Landau has written a history of dictionaries, how dictionaries are used, considerations when creating a dictionary, considerations when printing a dictionary, how dictionaries are viewed in society [bigger is always better seems to be the unfortunate view] and much, much more.

While perhaps in regard to the technology a bit out of date [2001 -- technology has moved ahead in leaps and bounds; though Landau does cover how computers both help and hinder] -- perhaps a call to write a new edition please Sidney? -- the principles seem timeless. I knew a dictionary was a complicated endeavour, but until I read this I did not know just how complicated. And despite this, or perhaps because of their complexity, as well as Landau's enthusiasm and experience, I wish I could go and be part of a team working on one now.

I'd also add Sidney Landau's humour kept me amused througout; while of course meaning no disrepect to surgeons, and I am sure Landau thought the same, this quote, coming in a section dealing with style manuals and how to make them readable and suitable for different people, gives one example of a quote that had me laughing:
One must therefore prepare a simplified version of the style manual for contributors ... The same person who can separate and suture microscopic blood vessels of the eye with perfect assurance falls into a state of mental collapse when instructed in the proper use of parentheses.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Information, October 29, 2011

By 

Ohioan - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Dictionaries: The Art and Craft of Lexicography (Paperback)

This is a book full of fascinating information about how dictionaries are conceived of and made: how the information is collected and what the guiding principles of each publisher are. Reading this book and learning about how publishers "count" the words that are supposedly in their dictionaries has changed my entire outlook on how to buy a dictionary. Thanks to this book I've also become very aware of "latent words." The book is long, but never dull. If you're interested in words, word origins, and how dictionaries are compiled, this book will entertain and educate you.