the secret life of dictionaries Stamper, Kory creator author. text bibliography nyu 2017 First Edition. monographic eng spa

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296 p. : 22 cm "Brimming with intelligence and personality, a vastly entertaining account of how dictionaries are made - a must read for word mavens. Have you ever tried to define the word "is?" Do you have strong feelings about the word (and, yes, it is a word) "irregardless?" Did you know that OMG was first used in 1917, in a letter to Winston Churchill? These are the questions that keep lexicographers up at night. While most of us might take dictionaries for granted, the process of writing dictionaries is in fact as lively and dynamic as language itself. With sharp wit and irreverence, Kory Stamper cracks open the complex, obsessive world of lexicography, from the agonizing decisions about what and how to define, to the knotty questions of usage in an ever-changing language. She explains why the small words are the most difficult to define, how it can take nine months to define a single word, and how our biases about language and pronunciation can have tremendous social influence. Throughout Stamper brings to life the hallowed halls (and highly idiosyncratic cubicles) of Merriam-Webster, a surprisingly rich world inhabited by quirky and erudite individuals who quietly shape the way we communicate. A sure delight for all lovers of words, Harmless Drudges will also improve readers' grasp and use of the English language"-- Hrafnkell: on falling in love -- But: on grammar -- It's: on "grammar" -- Irregardless: on wrong words -- Corpus: on collecting the bones -- Surfboard: on defining -- Pragmatic: on examples -- Take: on small words -- Bitch: on bad words -- Posh: on etymology and linguistic originalism -- American dream: on dates -- Nuclear: on pronunciation -- Nude: on correspondence -- Marriage: on authority and the dictionary -- Epilogue: the damnedest thing. Kory Stamper. Includes bibliographical references and index (pages 275-296). Lexicography History Encyclopedias and dictionaries History and criticism Lexicographers Biography REFERENCE / Dictionaries BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs P 327 S783w 2017 413.028 REF008000 BIO026000 Stamper, Kory, author. New York : Pantheon Books, [2017] (DLC) 2016037824 9781101870945 (hardback) DLC 160803 20230410142420.0 eng