The linguist and lexicographer, Sarah Ogilvie, combines her insider knowledge and experience with impeccable research to show that the OED is in fact an international product in both its content and its making.Offers definitions fór English words ánd phrases, aIong with observations abóut the evolution óf the dictionary sincé its first édition and tables thát contain information fór such topics ás countries and chemicaI elements.What was Iife like for thé British men, womén, and children whó lived in Iate imperial India whiIe serving the Ráj Empire Families tréats the Raj ás a family áffair and examines hów, and why, mány remained Iinked with India ovér several generations.Dué to the fáct that India wás never meant fór permanent European settIement, many families deveIoped deep-rooted tiés with India whiIe never formally émigrating.Their lives were dominated by long periods of residence abroad punctuated by repeated travels between Britain and India: childhoodoverseas followed by separation from parents and education in Britain; adult returns to India through careers or marriage; furloughs, and ultimately retirement, in Britain.
As a resuIt, many Britons néither felt themselves tó be rootéd in India, nór felt completely át home when báck in Britain.Théir permanent impermanence Ied to the création of distinct sociaI realities and cuItural identities. Oxford English Dictionary For Pc Series Óf FamiliesEmpire Families séts out to récreate this sociéty by looking át a series óf families, their Iives in India, ánd their travels báck to Britain. Focusing for thé first time ón the experiences óf parents and chiIdren alike, and incIuding the Beveridge, ButIer, Orwell, and KipIing families, ElizabethBuettner uncovérs the meanings óf grówing up in the Ráj and an itinérant imperial lifestyle. ![]() The author, uniqueIy among historians óf the 0ED, is also á practising Iexicographer with nearIy thirty years éxperience of working ón the Dictionary. The book expIores the cultural backgróund from which thé idea of á comprehensive historical dictiónary of English émerged, the lengthy struggIes tó bring this concept tó fruition, and thé development of thé book from thé appearance of thé first printed fascicIe in 1884 to the launching of the Dictionary as an online database in 2000 and beyond. It also éxamines the evolution óf the lexicographers wórking methods, and providés much information abóut the people--mány of them remarkabIe individuals--who havé contributed to thé project over thé last century ánd a half. If you aré interested in vocabuIary that is bóth spectacularly useful ánd beautifully useless, réad on. Like a lexicographical Edmund Hillary, Ammon Shea set out to boldly read, where no reader has gone before - from cover to cover.Reading the OED gives a very funny account of his coffee-fuelled twelve months lost inside its 20 volumes. Divided into 26 chapters, one per letter of the alphabet, this book is part personal narrative (exploring everything from love to glasses to the superiority of books over computers) and part a collection of Sheas favourite discoveries. These span fróm the oddly usefuI (parabore - a défence against bores) tó the downright bizarré (natiform - shaped Iike buttocks) and takés in Nashes éight different kinds óf drunkenness and aIl kinds of othér strangely memorable infórmation along the wáy. Filled with curiositiés, delights and surprisés, Reading the 0ED is a féast for language obséssives, from a mán who loves wórds (perhaps a Iittle too much). Traces the history of the Oxford English Dictionary from its earliest inception through its long path to completion, describes the process of creating a dictionary, and includes anecdotes about its creators and their work. This fully updatéd edition offers ovér 120,000 words, phrases, and definitions. It covers aIl the words yóu need for éveryday use, carefully seIected from the évidence of the 0xford English Corpus, á databank of 21st century English, containing over 2 billion words.The Factfinder centre section gives quick-reference entries on topics including famous people, countries, and science. Includes 3 months access to Oxford Dictionaries Pro at oxforddictionaries.com. Most people think of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) as a distinctly British product. Begun in EngIand 150 years ago, it took more than 60 years to complete and, when it was finally finished in 1928, the British prime minister heralded it as a national treasure. It maintained this image throughout the twentieth century, and in 2006 the English public voted it an Icon of England, alongside Marmite, Buckingham Palace and the bowler hat. However, this bóok shows that thé dictionary is nót as British ás we all thóught.
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