1、Unit Eleven: But Whats a Dictionary For ?,Teaching Procedure,Individual presentation on Noah Webster and Websters Third New International 2. Discussion on question about whats a dictionary for: Part 1. (Para. 1-3) 1) sums up the worst attacks on the dictionary2) states the claim of the compilers3) c
2、alls for an examination of dictionary making, hence the question of “whats a dictionary for?” 3. Homework,Noah Websters House,an American lexicographer, journalist, textbook author, spelling reformer, advocate of cultural independence of the United States translator of the Bible an ardent federalist
3、,Noah Websters dictionaries,1) A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language: his first dictionary of the English language (1806) 2) An American Dictionary of the English Language: his magnum opus, the first edition (1828) 3) An American Dictionary of the English Language: the second edition (184
4、0) 4) publishing rights of his dictionary were acquired by George and Charles Merriam (1843) 5) George and Charles Merriam brought out a version edited by Noah Websters son-in-law, professor Chauncey A. Goodrich of Yale College (1847)- The 1847 edition became the first Merriam-Webster unabridged dic
5、tionary.,6) The second edition was published in 1934. (The first edition and second edition were based on prescriptive linguistics.) 7) The third edition (Websters Third New International Dictionary) was published in 1961. (with Philip B. Gove, a famous descriptive linguist as its editor) (It was ba
6、sed on descriptive linguistics),Content:2752 pages, over 460,000 entries, 200,000 usage examples, over 3,000 pictorial illustrations, more than 1,000 synonym articles; an addition of 100,000 new words or new definitions that were not included in the Second International. 2) three virtues in dictiona
7、ry making: accuracy, clearness, comprehensiveness 3) enormous work and money: over 200 permanent staff of language experts and over 100 special outside consultants spent 27 years and $3.5 million. A total of 10 million citations were collected as background for definition.,Para. 11. What happened wh
8、en the WTNID appeared? 2. How did the well-known,well-received newspapers and magazines greet the WTNID?3. In the last sentence, theres a sarcasm, how do you understand the writers sarcastic meaning and translate the last sentence of this paragraph? 4. Identify the figures of speech used in this par
9、a.5. How is this paragraph developed?,2. Discussion on Part. 1,Atlantic, New York Times, Life, The Journal of American bar Association,the Atlantic: American monthly journal, doing investigative journalism, fiction and poetryIt view as b. the New York Times: daily newspaper; considered the most repu
10、table daily by many. Equivalent to London Times. It puts out a huge Sunday issue covering just about everythingnews, sports, arts, etc.-also magazine section. It felt and accused of c. The American Bar Association: Bar here means lawyer collectively; or the legal profession, e.g. be called to the Ba
11、r (be received as a member of the Bar); read for the Bar (study to become a barrister).It saw the publication as d. Life: American popular pictorial magazine. It called itand doubted that,The Influential Newspapers in America,1. The New York Times 2. Washington Post 3. The Wall Street Journal 4. The
12、 Los Angeles Times 5. The New York Daily News,The Influential Newspapers in America,1. Time 2. Readers Digest 3. Life 4. Playboy 5. Fortune,Throw light on - If sth. throws or casts light on sth.else, it makes it easier to understand, because more information has been added to what was previously kno
13、wn; reveal. Eg. His remark throws light on the problem (mentioned last year). 1)They doubted thatThey didnt believe that Lincohn could have written his famous Gettysburg Address with the language described in the 3rd International as a model. This reveals that Lifes editors dont really know how thin
14、gs get written. A successful writing is not made by a dictionary but by the authors passion and flexible use of language. 2) a concept of how things get written. This concept can provide little information on how Lincohn wrote his Address, but it does explain how the editors of Life write their arti
15、cles. They are ignorant enough to suggest writing with a dictionary as a model.,Paraphrase exercise,1. Never has a scholarly work of this stature been attacked with such unbridled fury and contempt. 2. accelerate the deterioration of the language and sternly accused the editors of betraying a public
16、 trust. 3. a flagrant example of lexicographic irresponsibility.,Para. 2 Main idea: WTNID is a massive work. 1. Do you know the allusion of “Sound and Fury”? 2. Why is it claimed as a massive work? Explain the implied meaning in the last sentence. Para. 3. The writer explained, examined basic princi
17、ples of compiling dictionaries with some questions.1. Explain the first sentence.,Sound and Fury,The writer is using a quotation from Shakespeares Macbeth, Act V, Scene IV, L: 26-28“it (life) is a tale Told by an idiot, full of Sound and furySignifying nothing.” 生活(人生)犹如痴人说梦，充满了喧嚣与骚动，却没有任何意义。 This m
18、onologue, to some extent, embodied the theme of the novel Sound and Fury, the great classic created by the American writer -William Faulkner (18971962).,Sound and Fury,The “Sound and Fury” is a good example to illustrate Faulkners concern in creative writing. The novel is a complex account of the br
19、eakdown of the once distinguished and honored Compson family. Four sections are included in the novel largely reliant on stream of consciousness. 这段独白在某种意义上说体现了的主题思想.小说主人公是南方没落贵族康普生一家.中心人物是康的女儿凯蒂. 虽然作者没为她专门写一章,但她是一根线,将四大部分连成一体.作者打破传统小说着重刻画主人公的做法,从其他人物的眼光和他们的生活经历来展示凯蒂的浮沉和她在家族中的地位.它既是家族成员,又是家族破落的象征.,P
20、ara. 4. 5 Two brief statements about dictionaries1. What was the first statement? 2. Explain the last sentence of Para. 4. 3. What was the second statement? 4. What figure of speech is used in “much-touted Second International and the much-clouted Third International”? 5.What is the implied meaning
21、in “not like the difference between the yearly models but like the difference between the horse and buggy and automobile”? is not superficial (like the difference between the yearly models of the same car) but substantial (like the difference between two entirely different means of transportation),A
22、ssonance Assonance is the repetition of a vowel sound within words.free and easy; make the grade; Time and tide wait for no man. Assonance in Prose Prose writers sometimes repeat vowel sounds to reinforce the meaning of the words. It also helps to create moods. Here, the long o sounds mysterious. Po
23、etry is old, ancient, goes back far. It is among the oldest of living things. So old it is that no man knows how and why the first poems came. -Carl Sandburg, Early Moon,Assonance in Poetry In poetry, too, assonance stresses words and moods. And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side Of my d
24、arling, my darling, my life and my bride. -Edgar Allan Poe, “Annabel Lee“,“As I was going to St. Ives, I met a man with seven wives, Every wife had seven sacks, every sack had seven cats, Every cat had seven kittens: kittens, cats, sacks and wives, How many were going to St. Ives.”“I feel the need,
25、the need for speed.“,Para. 6 1. Whats the figurative meaning in “gets its charter”? 2. What kind of scholar was Bloom-field ? 3. What do you know about Strunks Element ? Para. 7: The major basic finding of descriptive linguistics. 1. What should linguists do when they study a language? 2. Why do we
26、say each language is a unique language? 3. In point three, what features does a language have? 4. According to the writer, what does correctness based on?,Strunk,Strunks Elements of Style: This volume on language style was originated by Strunk to a freshman class at Cornell University (New York Stat
27、e) in the form of lectures.,Descriptive linguistics,Linguistics is the science of language, including phonology音韵学, morphology词法学, syntax句法学, and semantics词义学. It is sub-divided into descriptive, historical, comparative, geographical, social applied, etc. linguistics. Descriptive linguistics is the
28、branch of linguistics which describes the structure of a language or languages as they exist, without reference to their histories or to comparison with other languages.,Para. 8. 1. In order to be comprehensive, what does a dictionary include? Para. 9. 1. Why are new dictionaries needed? 2. What is
29、the average period of two generations? 3. What does a dictionary have to do with the changes?,Para. 10. 1. What has caused the changes in English language? 2. According to the writer, what does he think of the language used in todays publications? Para. 11. 1. What does the first sentence mean in th
30、is context? 2. How did the writer refute the Life and The New York Times and The Washington Post? Para. 12. 1. What kind of language does the Third International describe?,Para. 13. 1. What should the papers do with the language? 2. Explain the implied meaning of the last sentence “If the editorials
31、 were serious, the publicon these publications are more literate than the editors.“ Para. 14. 1. Why does the common reader consult a dictionary? 2. What is the full truth about American English today? 3. Explain “certainty is impossible and simplification is misleading“.,If the editorials were seri
32、ous,The sentence implied that it is a lucky thing that the writers on these publications are not as ignorant as the editors. If the editorials were serious , the editors would stick to the language described in the dictionary compiled in the 30s, and if they did so , their publications would be unre
33、adable and nobody would subscribe to them and as a matter a result, they would cease to bring profits to their share-holders. (sarcastic tone here),Para. 15. 1. Paraphrase “Even in so settled a matter as spelling, a dictionary cannot always be absolute.“ 2. Paraphrase “But neither his vanity nor his
34、 purse is any concern of the dictionarys.“ 3. What kind of facts should the dictionary record? 4. What does the writer say about spelling?,Para. 16. &17. 1. What does the writer say about pronunciation? 2. Paraphrase “Has the dictionary abdicated its responsibility? 3. How do you understand “lexicog
35、raphy, like God, is no respecter of persons.? Whats the figure of speech used in this sentence? 4. Explain this sentence “But because so wide-spread and conspicuous a use of two pronunciations among people of this elevation shows that there are two pronunciations.“,Para. 18. 1. How does a reader and
36、 an author use a dictionary differently? 2. What does “this“ refer to in the last sentence? Para. 19-21 1. What does the word “furnish“ mean in the first sentence? 2. Explain “abdication of authority“ and “barbarism“. 3. Whats the Posts editorials attitude to the definition of “door“ offered by the
37、Third International? 4. Explain “takes the plain, downright, man-in-the-street attitude“.,Para. 22. 1. Whats the biggest booby traps mentioned in the first sentence? 2. According to the author, how do we deal with the habitual terms in a dictionary? 3. Why was Dr. Johnson ridiculed? Para. 23. 1. Exp
38、lain the implied meaning of the first sentence. 2. What should a lexicographer do in order to sort out meanings included under “door“?,Para. 24. what does “the fine print in the lease“ mean? Para. 25.& 26. 1. Why does the author first go to the Second International, and then go on to the Third Inter
39、national? 2. Which one does the author prefer, accuracy or brevity? 3. Explain “in the definition which raised the Posts blood pressure.“,the fine print in the lease,Lease- a contract by which a landlord gives a tenant the use of a room or rooms for a specified time and for fixed payment. The major
40、conditions of the lease are usu. printed in large characters (large print). But some quite important provisions(条款) may be printed in very small characters(fine print) by the landlord to dupe (欺骗) his tenant because he doesnt expect the tenant to read the fine print, because they may include such de
41、tails as the number of rooms ,furniture,etc,Para. 27. 1. Has the Third New International Dictionary any faults? What are they if it has? 2. Paraphrase “Nothing that tries to meet an ever-changing situation over a terrain as vast as contemporary English can hope to be free of them.“ 3. Explain “ And
42、much in it is open to honest, and informed, disagreement.“ Para. 28. 1. What is certain according to this paragraph?,6. Rhetorical Devices,1) metonymy 2) synecdoche 3) sarcasm 4) alliteration,2) synecdoche,Synecdoche means giving the part for the whole or vice versa, using a kind of thing to represe
43、nt another big kind or vice versa, and using raw material to represent the thing made of it.,a. Use the part to represent the whole Twenty years later when he came back to his home town, he saw many new faces.(strangers) The farms are short of hands during the harvest season.(workers) He has a fleet
44、 of fifty sails.(ships) Great minds think alike.(great persons),a. Use the whole to represent the part The score is 2 to 1 in favor of China. (Chinese team) The world stands by our side. b. Use a kind of thing to represent another big kind. It is said that the cutthroat still remains at large. c. Us
45、e a big kind of thing to represent another kind of thing. The poor creature could no longer endure her sufferings. (a woman) d. Use raw material to represent the thing made of it. The family has been on the boards since the grandfathers time. (the stage) e. Use concrete things to represent abstract
46、things or vice versa.,synecdoche,There is a mixture of the tiger and ape in the character of Frenchman. ( tiger and ape stands for the quality of ferocity and cunningness ) All the wit and learning were assembled here. (the witthe clever and wise people; learninglearned people),4） Alliteration (头韵),
47、Alliteration is a figure of speech which is the use in close proximity of two or more sounds that begin with the same sound, or sequence of sound. For example, A strong man struggling with the storms of state. Some phrases: Forgive and forget Part and parcel As busy as a bee I wish you to be hearty,
48、 happy, healthy during the National holiday.,7. Questions for Discussion,1. What critical views did the popular press express on the publication of Websters Third New International Dictionary 2. How much effort and money was spent on the making of this dictionary? 3. Why are new dictionaries needed? 4. What does the writer say about spelling and pronunciation? 5. Has the Third New International Dictionary any faults?,
