Writing Tools

 

Philistine White Goodman likes to break a mental sweat by reading a dictionary in Dodgeball.

While discussing the plummeting level of literacy among students, a university professor friend of mine told me that a girl with an MA in English from Durham did not know what a Thesaurus was. 'When I told her she would benefit from using a Thesaurus, she asked me, "What's a Thesaurus?" So here you have a supposed literary professional who doesn't even own a dictionary'. 

When I come across such instances I never know how to react. Deep within I am outraged and disgusted but on the outside I play it cool, nodding while looking deep within my cup of tea, eventually uttering the immortal, and yet meaningless, 'Yeah, well, what can you do?'. Yet, I don't like this nihilistic approach. While we are busy tweeting about the latest software that switches off all apps on our computer so that we can type away unencumbered by visual distractions or about the one that disconnects the net for a timespan set by us, I still think that these are little gimmicks for little people, pillars for amateurs to hide behind. 

For those who write, a dictionary is the writing tool to have besides pen and paper (or keyboard and screen). What could be more important than the ability to find le mot juste which is going to create a world of emotions, sensations and images for your reader? But did you know that there is no such thing as 'a' dictionary? There are in fact many types.

When I think of 'a' dictionary I always have a huge green tome in mind, the first dictionary I ever owned and one which, in fact, span two tomes, A to N and O to Z. This is the encyclopedic dictionary that clarifies all doubts about orthography, uses and potential misuses. Don't be fooled by 'concise' appearing in the title of such dictionaries; both a 'complete' and a 'concise' one will provide encyclopedic entries, with phrases, detailed definitions and phonetics also included. But then, there are many more dictionaries which are far less cumbersome to carry around and extremely rewarding even to read in bed in the evening.

An abridged dictionary provides a reduced number of entries.

A bilingual dictionary provides translation from one language to another and it is vital for whoever writes or reads in another language. Oh and you know how some people say that you can use Google Translate instead? Tell them to read this. 

A Thesaurus provides synonyms and antonyms, often with numerous contextual examples.

An etymological dictionary provides the evolution of words, with origins and history. This is not, however, a dictionary only relevant to philologists, for it provides fascinating discoveries to anyone who likes to absorb knowledge about anything and everything (do you know why we speak of 'eavesdropping'? Or 'cupboards'? Fascinating I am telling you). Check out The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology.

Specialist dictionaries abound and are the ones which are sometimes disguised as 'books of'. You can get dictionaries of idioms, of word origins, of clichés, of operas, of quotations, of proverbs, of slang, of word histories, of medical terms and many, many more. Some of these are etymological dictionaries (word histories, slang), some group their findings in chapters therefore screwing the alphabetical order (The Penguin Book of Clichés), while others meet technical writing needs. Among these specialist dictionaries, The Fowler's Modern English Usage provides recommendations on style and grammar while elucidating many intricate issues of convention and practice.

Did you know that there are also inverted dictionaries out there? These curious books start at Z and are thought of practical help for those writers who seek specific anagrams or rhymes. Still, the only one I could find online is an inverted medical dictionary.

Comments

[Serinissima]

Your MA student reminds me of a young girl who used to work for me- she filed my AMEX statement under "T" for "The" bank statement and put stamps on the wrong corner of the envelops- "Yeah, well,what can you do?".
What's the name of the dictionary that gives you the names of obscure things, like bones in the hand and parts of a ship, with pictures to help you identify them? That's my favorite, reduces the amount of times in your writing that you have to say "thingemebob". Irony, of course, is that I'm need it for this comment...

[Amelia]

well, what can I say?

I have my abridged dictionary, my thesaurus and my etymological dictionary - I still probably have a lot to learn though!

Amelia.xx

[Steph]

That really made me laugh... filing the AmEx statement under T... good grief...! My encyclopedic dictionary is also partially illustrated and has some of the pics you describe. I definitely remember the pic of a transatlantic with all tiny details marked out and named.

And Amelia, I think we could all start by reading a dictionary. I don't know but... there is something really appealing about the idea of plonking myself on a park bench with a thick dictionary. There is something very... Margot Tenenbaum-esque to it... I should try it (minus the fur coat and the hideous loafers)

[Amelia]

funny - that's exactly what my son did the other day: went and fetched the dictionary from the shelf and started reading through it!!

Amelia.x