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The right words
MAYA MENON
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The Macmillan English Dictionary boasts of an up-to-date corpus that provides information on new words...
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LOOKING FOR the right words? A dictionary is your best bet. And with around one-lakh, easy-to-find entries, the Macmillan English Dictionary could prove to be a worthwhile acquisition. Compiled by 100 of the most reputed lexicographers in Britain and the U.S., the two-colour dictionary, launched at the British Council in the city, last week, boasts of an up-to-date corpus that provides fresh information on new words. There are as many as 1,000 illustrated words too and a special focus on easy-to-use menus.
The CD-ROM accompanying the dictionary (a set costs Rs.495) helps users check their spelling and record and practise pronunciation, besides serving as a ready - reckoner for writers.
It was an occasion for a panel discussion on the topic: "Does inclusion of "new" words in modern dictionaries only add respectability to sloppy language usage or serve to debase the language?" The panel comprising the sports commentator, Harsha Bhogle of ESPN, Sashi Kumar of the Media Development Foundation, Chennai, A.S. Panneer Selvan, managing editor, Sun News Channel, Chennai, Mukund Padmanabhan, deputy editor, The Hindu, Gowri Ramanarayan, special correspondent, The Hindu and translator, and Eunice Crook, director, British Council, threw up interesting perspectives of commonly used words and expressions, and how the English language adapts itself as it travels across countries and cultures.
While most of the speakers were concerned over the modern style of "paring down" of words, which would result in a language shorn of all emotion and flavour, some felt that it was perhaps pointless to add more words to a dictionary when less than half of the existing vocabulary was not used. The "intractability" of English to cultural connotations, especially in translations, was touched upon. The increasing accent on a reader-friendly and even colloquial style was welcomed as a refreshing departure from formal usages. However, there was a consensus on the need for adherence to correct spelling and use of words. It was in this context that a dictionary came in handy. As for "debasing the language" it was felt that the context determined whether a word was good or bad.
One of the panelists pointed out the limitations of computers in recognising and correcting grammar and spelling errors.
Were journalists particularly guilty of archaic usages? Would new words make English learning more complicated? Would words or coinages that were basically Indian such as `face-cut' and `time-pass' eventually find a place in dictionaries?
These and other questions sparked such a lively discussion that Ms. Crook, who received the first copy of the dictionary, hoped that Macmillan India would consider compiling a dictionary of Indian words!
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