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Lionel Mandrake

(4,126 posts)
Sun Nov 16, 2014, 01:43 PM Nov 2014

Why I like some dictionaries more than others

Last edited Sun Nov 16, 2014, 04:44 PM - Edit history (1)

I am the proud owner of what will probably be the last print edition of the granddaddy of all English dictionaries, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). Among its other virtues, when describing etymology it does not transliterate Greek words. It prints them using the Greek alphabet. The same is true of Cassell's Latin dictionary and the monumental Oxford Latin Dictionary.

Transliteration made some sense in the era of typewriters and hot-metal typesetting, but those technological dinosaurs are nearly extinct. Almost all printing is now done by computer. Since Greek fonts are widely available, there is no excuse for new dictionaries not to print Greek words in the Greek alphabet.

Many dictionaries now in print are photographic reproductions of older editions, so transliteration can not be replaced by Greek text.

Last time I checked the online OED it had not evolved much from the print edition. The Greek alphabet was used where appropriate, but unfortunately no Greek font was used. Instead, each Greek letter was a Graphics box, which means that those of us with bad eyesight could not zoom in on Greek words the way we could on English words.

Another criterion for dictionaries is the way they describe pronunciation. The gold standard for pronunciation is the alphabet of the International Phonetic Association (IPA). The best dictionaries (e.g., the OED) use the IPA alphabet, at least as a starting point.

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Why I like some dictionaries more than others (Original Post) Lionel Mandrake Nov 2014 OP
This message was self-deleted by its author Sweeney Dec 2014 #1
My OED has "xenelasy", Lionel Mandrake Dec 2014 #2
This message was self-deleted by its author Sweeney Dec 2014 #3
The words "xenelasia" and "xenelasy" (take your pick) Lionel Mandrake Dec 2014 #4

Response to Lionel Mandrake (Original post)

Lionel Mandrake

(4,126 posts)
2. My OED has "xenelasy",
Fri Dec 5, 2014, 04:37 PM
Dec 2014

which was used in English by George Grote, History of Greece (1846). As you probably know, "xenelasy" was a way to remove foreigners from Sparta.

Response to Lionel Mandrake (Reply #2)

Lionel Mandrake

(4,126 posts)
4. The words "xenelasia" and "xenelasy" (take your pick)
Fri Dec 5, 2014, 07:12 PM
Dec 2014

both score numerous hits in Google. The former is closer to the Greek original, the latter more anglicized. I can discern no difference in meaning. The Wikipedia article could use some editing; it begins as follows:

"Xenelasia (Ancient Greek: ???????ί? ... ) was the title given to a set of laws in ancient Doric Crete and Lacedæmonia that proscribed (sic) the exclusion of foreigners and any foreign arts and music into their respective commonwealths."

Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenelasia

Plato had entirely too much respect for such xenophobia; see Republic or Laws.

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