《牛津英语词典》的传承与革新——读约翰·辛普森回忆录《词语侦探》
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摘要
在过往的百年间,英语经历了成为全球通用语的历史过程,也以前所未有的速度增添着新词新义,也更加直接地折射出人类知识的进步和发展。《牛津英语词典》最初的动议和设计就是为了描写、刻画英语的历史与现状。它的第一版主要是在维多利亚时期筹备和完成的,在完成后就面临着更新和修订的压力。约翰·辛普森于1976年跨出大学校门后为《牛津英语词典》工作近四十年,直到退休。他入职《牛津英语词典》编纂团队时,刚好赶上《牛津英语词典·补编》后两卷的编纂工作。他亲身经历和推动了第三版项目并担任该版词典首任主编二十年,一直致力于在继承传统和开拓创新之间保持平衡,实现了《牛津英语词典》编纂范式的转型,带领《牛津英语词典》以新的风貌进入21世纪。他的回忆录《词语侦探》具体生动地讲述了这四十年间发生在《牛津英语词典》和他本人身上的故事。
English,in the past century,has been becoming a global language,witnessing the influx of new words and new senses in an unprecedented speed and reflecting more directly the progress and expansion of human knowledge. The Oxford English Dictionary( OED),which was initiated and designed to capture the history and status quo of the English language,was born and completed mainly in the Victorian Period,and after that it began to face the increasingly urgent need of updating and revision. John Simpson joined the Supplement project after his graduation in1976,early enough to have experienced the second half of the project. He devoted nearly four decades of his life totally to the OED, witnessing and pushing forward the revolutionary lexicographic paradigm shift to the OED-2 and then to the OED-3. The OED-3,with Simpson as its editor-in-chief for two decades,has made every effort to strike a balance between inheritance and innovation to make the OED suit for the 21 st century. Memoir,The Word Detective is a vivid record of the stories about the dictionary and his own life.
English,in the past century,has been becoming a global language,witnessing the influx of new words and new senses in an unprecedented speed and reflecting more directly the progress and expansion of human knowledge. The Oxford English Dictionary( OED),which was initiated and designed to capture the history and status quo of the English language,was born and completed mainly in the Victorian Period,and after that it began to face the increasingly urgent need of updating and revision. John Simpson joined the Supplement project after his graduation in1976,early enough to have experienced the second half of the project. He devoted nearly four decades of his life totally to the OED, witnessing and pushing forward the revolutionary lexicographic paradigm shift to the OED-2 and then to the OED-3. The OED-3,with Simpson as its editor-in-chief for two decades,has made every effort to strike a balance between inheritance and innovation to make the OED suit for the 21 st century. Memoir,The Word Detective is a vivid record of the stories about the dictionary and his own life.
引文
1.约翰·辛普森撰,田兵译.英语词典学的革命.辞书研究,2016(2).
2 .Cowie A.(ed.)The Oxford History of English Lexicography.Oxford:Oxford University Press,2009.
3 .Hartmann R R K.(ed.)Lexicography:Critical Concepts.London&New York:Routledge,2003.
4 .Mugglestone L.The Oxford English Dictionary.In Cowie A.(ed.)The Oxford History of English Lexicography.Oxford:Oxford University Press,2009 Vol.Ⅱ:230-259.
5 .Murray J.The Evolution of English Lexicography.In Hartmann R R K.(ed.)Lexicography:Critical Concepts.London&New York:Routledge,2003.
6 .Simpson J.The Revolution of English Lexicography.Dictionaries:The Journal of Dictionary Society of North America,2002(23).
7 .Simpson J,Weiner E,Durkin P.The Oxford English Dictionary Today.Transactions of the Philological Society,2004,2(3):335-381.
8 .Simpson J.The History and Aspiration of the Oxford English Dictionary:1857—2014 and Beyond.外语教学与研究,2014,46(6):803-816.
9 .Simpson J.The Word Detective:Searching for the Meaning of It All at the Oxford English Dictionary:A Memoir(US version,New York:Basic Books);The Word Detective:A Life in Words:From Serendipity to Selfie(British version,London:Little,Brown Book Group),2016.
10 .Weiner E.The Electronic OED:The Computerization of A Historical Dictionary.In Cowie A.(ed.)The Oxford History of English Lexicography.Oxford:Oxford University Press,2009 Vol.Ⅱ:378-409.
[1]除了增加新词新义,其他两项是:现有词条的修订;修订后词条的再修订和更新。此三项工作在一定时期内的不同阶段会各有侧重,但最终会达到某种稳定的常态。(Simpson 2014:806)
[2]英语原文:Um,drunk at a mates 21st,I tripped ofer[that is there in the original——it’s not my typo]and landed lip first(with front teeth coming a very close second)on a set of steps.I had a hole about 1cm long right through my bottom lip.And sorry about the focus,it was a selfie.
2 .Cowie A.(ed.)The Oxford History of English Lexicography.Oxford:Oxford University Press,2009.
3 .Hartmann R R K.(ed.)Lexicography:Critical Concepts.London&New York:Routledge,2003.
4 .Mugglestone L.The Oxford English Dictionary.In Cowie A.(ed.)The Oxford History of English Lexicography.Oxford:Oxford University Press,2009 Vol.Ⅱ:230-259.
5 .Murray J.The Evolution of English Lexicography.In Hartmann R R K.(ed.)Lexicography:Critical Concepts.London&New York:Routledge,2003.
6 .Simpson J.The Revolution of English Lexicography.Dictionaries:The Journal of Dictionary Society of North America,2002(23).
7 .Simpson J,Weiner E,Durkin P.The Oxford English Dictionary Today.Transactions of the Philological Society,2004,2(3):335-381.
8 .Simpson J.The History and Aspiration of the Oxford English Dictionary:1857—2014 and Beyond.外语教学与研究,2014,46(6):803-816.
9 .Simpson J.The Word Detective:Searching for the Meaning of It All at the Oxford English Dictionary:A Memoir(US version,New York:Basic Books);The Word Detective:A Life in Words:From Serendipity to Selfie(British version,London:Little,Brown Book Group),2016.
10 .Weiner E.The Electronic OED:The Computerization of A Historical Dictionary.In Cowie A.(ed.)The Oxford History of English Lexicography.Oxford:Oxford University Press,2009 Vol.Ⅱ:378-409.
[1]除了增加新词新义,其他两项是:现有词条的修订;修订后词条的再修订和更新。此三项工作在一定时期内的不同阶段会各有侧重,但最终会达到某种稳定的常态。(Simpson 2014:806)
[2]英语原文:Um,drunk at a mates 21st,I tripped ofer[that is there in the original——it’s not my typo]and landed lip first(with front teeth coming a very close second)on a set of steps.I had a hole about 1cm long right through my bottom lip.And sorry about the focus,it was a selfie.