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Ian Brach
CLT2044
11/23/10
An Examination ofThe Meaning of Everything
Many students sift through dictionaries without regard to the preeminent effort that was
required to devise such a colossal work. The Meaning of Everythingby Simon Winchester
provides a pristine understanding without embellishing or compromises succinctness. From the
origins of the language to propositions for future modifications of our current dictionary, the
book is devoid of very little pertinent importance.
Winchester begins the novel by delineating the English languages development and
eclecticism. He marks its complexities, laggard progress, multiplicity of sources contributing to
expansion and reformation, and contemporary words originating from these sources. English
appears to exemplify the stagnant velocity at which languages grow and the multitudinous stock
of words they achieve after years of seasoning. What to most illuminates as a spectacle is, to
lexicographers, a tortuous enigma whose origins must be ascertained for understanding. These
considerations support the disproportion of the need for a dictionary and its relatively short
existence. It wasnt until the early 1600s that someone attempted to suffer in the travail of
compiling the entirety of English words into a single work. A deluge of endeavors to create
dictionaries followed. These early attempts were unsuccessful in obtaining longevity due not
only to the perpetual change English bears, but also to the abbreviation and lack of
consummation the beginning dictionaries featured.
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It wasnt until 1755 when Samuel Johnson manufactured a compilation worthy of
veneration as the precedent to modern dictionaries. Johnson met ambivalence in his expedition.
He was a pedantic advocate of adhering to the original customs of a language. With the constant
mutations that English undergoes, he decided to dismiss his tendency and write with foresight
and respect to inevitability. The book became a ubiquitous resort to literary confusion. This
success incited criticism and acclaim but, most importantly, competition. Websters dictionary is
the most notable of competitors. His was more comprehensive and objective, which resulted in
its supplanting of Johnsons dictionary.
How incomplete these works were in relation to the true breadth of the English language
manifested with time. A coalition of scholars were needed to create a truly consummate
dictionary. This coalition marked the deficiencies of the previously created dictionaries. The
group strived to assemble a book containing the meaning of everything. I believe their attempt to
collate such a creation wasnt incited by the proclivity to advance academics, but also by the
desire for scholarly preeminence. Nevertheless, solely benefits were to be yielded.
The leaders of this collaboration assigned a section of words for which to find them in an
assortment of contexts. They then discerned all the proper meanings of each word, assuring
themselves that no definition of all the potential definitions were overlooked. This is the process
by which words were adequately added to the dictionary.
A succession of the leaders of the philological society persisted for a while. Natural
causes and choices to abdicate leadership of the society generated new headmen. Winchester
thoroughly describes the characters of all of them. I didnt expect so much eccentricity to
pervade each personality. Each were far more than prosaic pedants and carried interesting
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idiosycracies. These personalities were likely more apposite to manufacturing a dictionary able
to be seamlessly used by anyone. No coherence to strict convention would compromise the
diversity and versatility of English. James Murray eventually became the central figure of the
undertaking.
With the process of constructing an absolutely comprehensive dictionary being so
laborious, the volatility of consistency in working on the project is understandable. Also, the
spite and bitter attitude of those collaborating for a common cause are expected. These features
impeded the speed at which the task was completed.
In addition to these complications were the difficulties in negotiating publication of the
dictionary. Finding proper publication compounded the effects of the dissonance among the
members of the society. After being rejected by multiple publishers, Oxford dictionary acceded
to the need of publication. The delegates congregated to forge a contract. An eruption of
disagreement and distaste followed, but eventually settle and the contract was finished. At this
point, 1878, the project was foreseen to be completed in a few decades at most. This prediction is
proven remarkably inaccurate by the copiousness and tediousness of the toil of creating an
extensive dictionary. The project is finished in 1928, 13 years after the unfortunate death of
Murray. Todays conveniently purchased OED doesnt contain nearly as many entries as the
originally published one and to great avail.
I was surprised by the expansive effort of common people. A box was placed in front of
Murrays house for submissions to the dictionary. Interest in such an expedition wouldnt be
widespread today as it was in the times of the OEDs assemblage. How etymologies were
submitted seemed to be overlooked and brought incongruity to the consummation of conventions
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of a dictionary. I was disconsolate by unnecessary biographical information pertaining to some of
the succeeding leaders of the Philological Society, causing discouragement to continue reading.
Although there are a few setbacks, I enjoyed understanding how such an elongated and arduous
process came to fruition.
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