Dictionaries

Rezensionen / Stimmen

'Here is a new thing under the sun: a virtually exhaustive treatment of lexicography by a single author qualified for the task by long practical experience and a strong and trained lexicographical intelligence. I can hardly think of a single detail of any aspect of lexicography which anyone, specialist or non-specialist, will not find treated here attentively, skillfully and profitably. Dictionaries should be required reading for all lexicographers and can be heartily recommended to everyone else who cares to know what dictionaries are like and how to use them to best advantage.' The Times Literary Supplement 'Landau's style is not only lucid and precise - as one would expect from a man with more than 20 years' experience in dictionaries, a former editor in chief of dictionaries for Funk & Wagnalls and Doubleday - but it is also witty and considerate. Landau anticipates reader problems and includes definitions to technical terms in parentheses. This is a book you will want to consult before buying your next dictionary, whether it is for a child, a college student, a foreign speaker or someone with a specialized interest, such as slang.' Philadelphia Inquirer 'Landau has created what may be the best book ever published for the teaching of lexicography. It has just the right mix of simplicity and complexity! The author combines accessibility for the novice with professional considerations of interest to those already in the discipline.' Dictionaries 'Dictionaries is thorough, balanced, and entertaining to read.' American Speech 'Written from an insider's viewpoint (as a lexicographer of eminence, Landau scarcely needs introducing), it should be read - and read carefully - by all wouldbe and practising reference librarians, English teachers, writers, editors, and reviewers ... The style of Dictionaries, by the way, is so superior to that of most professional writing as to suggest that a great many productive scholars in library and information science would do well to study and imitate Landau's rhetoric.' Booklist 'The first comprehensive book on English dictionary-making ... Landau's book is interesting enough and well enough written to be read with pleasure and profit by anyone with a professional or lay interest in language.' Language 'Consistently informative and never ponderous, this book conveys an abundance of detail with wit, grace, and style.' Choice 'Sidney Landau has lucidly and articulately set down an excellent presentation of some of the tangled questions faced by those who work with dictionaries ... Dictionaries is the most informative and useful book on the subject.' Verbatim