The New Oxford Dictionary of
English
Judy Pearsall and Patrick
Hanks
Description
The New Oxford Dictionary of
English breaks new ground in dictionary-making. It represents the most significant
development in the description of English for over 100 years. Its dramatically fresh and
different approach focuses on English as it is really used in the late twentieth century,
informed by currently available evidence and current thinking. With over 4 million words
of text, it is the largest single-volume dictionary, containing over 350,000 words,
phrases, and definitions, and over 70,000 examples. It provides the best coverage of
current English, with information that is uniquely accessible, via a rapid-access page
design and a unique new defining style which makes it possible to give the most complete
picture of English as it is used today.
impressive ... a
praiseworthy attempt to break away from old traditions; most of the innovations it
incorporates will prove to be successful for readers who will also be attracted by the
modest price. Manfred Gorlach, English World-Wide, 20:1, 1999
The New Oxford Dictionary of
English is a landmark in dictionary-making. It represents the most significant development
in the description of English since 1884, when the first part of the celebrated
twenty-volume Oxford English Dictionary was published. Its dramatically fresh and
different approach focuses on English as it is really used in the late twentieth century,
informed by currently available evidence and current thinking. The dictionary's unique new
defining style makes it possible to give the most complete picture of English as it is
used today, providing authoritative and comprehensive coverage of the language unrivalled
by any other single-volume dictionary. Compiled after in-depth analysis of computerized
databases of current English, this dictionary is the first to base its coverage on the
evidence of real English. Accessibility is one of the dictionary's key aims; a
rapid-reference page design separates out parts of speech, word histories, phrases, and
derivatives to make information easy to find, and the most modern meaning of each word, as
used by the majority of people, is placed first within each entry. Contemporary rules are
given on questions of usage, providing relevant advice on problems old and new. Word
history notes not only explain the linguistic roots of words, but also tell the story of
how a word's meaning and form have changed over time. Oxford's worldwide network of
language consultants have contributed to entries on world English, to provide an accurate
and systematic record of how the language is used all around the English-speaking world.
Also included are modern, realistic pronunciations which are an accurate representation of
late twentieth-century speech, using the internationally recognized pronunciation system,
IPA.
Readership: General: anyone who wants a large authoritative English dictionary.
2176 pages