The joy of lexicography
1,425,076 views | Erin McKean • TED2007
Is the beloved paper dictionary doomed to extinction? In this infectiously exuberant talk, leading lexicographer Erin McKean looks at the many ways today's print dictionary is poised for transformation.
Is the beloved paper dictionary doomed to extinction? In this infectiously exuberant talk, leading lexicographer Erin McKean looks at the many ways today's print dictionary is poised for transformation.
This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.
Participate in Wordnik. Help build the world's largest online dictionary.
Connect with Wordnik. Use the API to integrate word definitions and synonyms into your app.
About the speaker
As the co-founder of Reverb Technologies, the maker of the online dictionary Wordnik, Erin McKean is reshaping how we interact with language itself.
Sidney I. Landau | Cambridge University Press, 2001 | Book
Dictionaries: The Art and Craft of Lexicography
This is the best overview of all the competing demands of dictionary-making.
Simon Winchester | Harper Perennial, 1999 | Book
The Professor and the Madman
About the Oxford English Dictionary. A page-turner! (Rest assured, most lexicographers never shoot anyone.)
Thierry Fontenelle (Editor) | Oxford University Press, 2008 | Book
Practical Lexicography: A Reader
A good overview.
B. T. Sue Atkins and Michael Rundell | Oxford University Press, 2008 | Book
The Oxford Guide to Practical Lexicography
Sue Atkins is at the forefront and the cutting edge of modern bilingual and corpus-based lexicography.
Simon Winchester | Oxford University Press, 2004 | Book
The Meaning of Everything
THE story of THE dictionary.
K. M. Elisabeth Murray | Yale University Press, 2001 | Book
Caught in the Web of Words
A loving biography of the great James Murray, by his granddaughter.
Jenny McMorris | Oxford University Press, 2003 | Book
The Warden of English
The life of H.W. Fowler, the man behind Fowler's A Dictionary of Modern English Usage.
Howard Jackson | Routledge, 2002 | Book
Lexicography: An Introduction
A good introduction with an international perspective.
Bo Svensén | Oxford University Press, 1993 | Book
Practical Lexicography
Difficult to find, but well worth the effort.
Donna Lee Berg | Oxford University Press, 1993 | Book
A Guide to the Oxford English Dictionary
You've got to know how to use one before you can learn how to make one!
Herbert C. Morton | Cambridge University Press, 1995 | Book
The Story of Webster's Third
The involving story of the biggest dictionary controversy of the 20th century.
Lynda Mugglestone (Editor) | Oxford University Press, 2002 | Book
Lexicography and the OED: Pioneers in the Untrodden Forest
Lexicographical ground-breaking and problem-solving for the OED.
Henri Béjoint | Oxford University Press, 2000 | Book
Modern Lexicography: An Introduction
A more general and theoretical overview of lexicography.
Alexander and Nicholas Humez | David R. Godine, 2000 | Book
Alpha to Omega: The Life and Times of the Greek Alphabet
Just pure fun — a wonderful way to remind yourself of the joy of words.
William Benzie | Pilgrim Books, 1983 | Book
Doctor F. J. Furnivall: A Victorian Scholar Adventurer
The life of the eccentric man that the OED was made because — and in spite — of!
B. T. Sue Atkins and A. Zampolli (Editors) | Oxford University Press, 1995 | Book
Computational Approaches to the Lexicon
The next step in dictionary-making.
Henri Béjoint | Oxford University Press, 2010 | Book
The Lexicography of English
New, comprehensive and clear!
Learn more
This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.
Participate in Wordnik. Help build the world's largest online dictionary.
Connect with Wordnik. Use the API to integrate word definitions and synonyms into your app.