Treat Dictionary as a vade mecum

As sheer casual reading matter, I still find the English dictionary the most interesting book in our language.

- Albert Jay Nock

Once Mark Twain, the author of The adventures of Tom Sawyer, sat in the United States Senate listening to a friend making a long speech. Mark Twain thought he should have some fun with his friend.

"Do you know, Senator, I was surprised at your speech. You may not believe it, but I own a very old book which has every word of that speech in it!"

The Senator was indignant. "That speech", he shouted, "was entirely my own! I'd like to see the book that contains my speech!"

After a few days the Senator received a copy of a dog-eared dictionary which contained every word he had used!

A good dictionary may have all the words you use in writing or speaking. However, most of us take the dictionary for granted as a necessary part of our life. Although the Dictionary is a sine qua non, the English language was in use a long time before the words in it were put into the first dictionary. The word "Dictionary" itself came into being only in 1526, less than 40 years before William Shakespeare was born.

Lexicographer

It is impossible to talk about the dictionary without reference to Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784) who was a celebrated writer and lexicographer. He is one of the notable lexicographers who started to compile a dictionary of the English. He regarded English spelling, or orthography, as "unsettled and fortuitous." Samuel Johnson felt it was his duty to change it. The dictionary he compiled was published in 1755. It consisted of words from many languages such as French, Latin, Greek, Saxon, German and Hebrew. Even modern dictionaries give such etymologies as a matter of course.

Samuel Johnson dubbed 'Dictionary Johnson'

As there were no other dictionaries around, his well-wishers hoped that Samuel Johnson's dictionary of English language would "fix the language" permanently. However, he saw very clearly that language would inevitably change in the course of time. In fact, he said, "to enchain syllables is to lash the wind... some words are budding and some falling away." It is amazing that even in the 18th century Samuel Johnson foresaw what would happen to the language.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary is one of the first few attempts at compiling the English words and their meanings. Between 1800 and 1900 new insights of scholars led to the creation of the science of historical linguistics. The 19th century scholars introduced a new approach to language, based on the inductive analysis of information. As a result, scholars from the United States,England and other European countries got together and compiled the greatest dictionary ever produced. The Oxford English Dictionary, running into 12 volumes, records more than half a million words with their etymologies, phonetic representations, definitions and quotations.

Stiff competition

While Johnson's dictionary contained about 40,000 entries elucidated by vivid, idiosyncratic and still-quoted definitions, modern dictionaries offer the reader much more. In fact, while the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is leading the way, it is facing stiff competition from others such as the Cambridge English Dictionary, Chamber's English Dictionary and Collins English Dictionary. The OED has put out a reader-friendly Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary. Not to be outdone, today we have access to the Cambridge Advanced Learner's English Dictionary as well. Collins too updates its series of dictionaries using colour headwords and clear print. The recently published Chamber's English Dictionary and the Thesaurus is a treat to English learners.

Lord Macaulay once remarked that he would take a copy of the OED if he were to spend a holiday in an island! Much water has flowed under the bridge since then. Today even if you gift a copy of the OED as a birthday present, the recipient will not care to use it. The younger generation may not know the value of a dictionary. Therefore, parents and teachers have a duty to tell their children and students that nobody can learn English well without using a dictionary.

As the English language is expanding every day, we cannot afford to use the same old dictionary for ever. As one writer put it, if your dictionary is more than 10 years old, put it in the attic! What he said is true. We have to buy the latest dictionary if we really care for the language. For instance, old dictionaries do not have the meaning of computer terms which are very much in vogue.

Buying a dictionary and using it at least for a few years is a wise investment. If you are a serious student of English, you cannot be satisfied with a copy of the OED. You need to have access to other dictionaries - Cambridge, Collins, Chambers - as well. All the words are not found in one dictionary. So, we must be ready to consult other dictionaries when the need arises. If you have access to a dictionary-cum- thesaurus, it will obviate the necessity to refer to a separate thesaurus.

Treat the dictionary as a vade mecum. Take it wherever you go. Consult it whenever you want. Make it a habit to browse through it. The gems you find in it are invaluable.