EnglishClub

Pre-listening vocabulary

• obsolete: old and no longer used
• etymology: the study of where words come from
• interpret: to find meaning in something
• comprehensive: containing as much information as possible
• compile: to put many pieces of information into one document
• volunteer: someone who chooses to do free work for a cause
• volume: a book that is only one part of a larger text

Listening activity

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Gapfill exercise

The Oxford English Dictionary, or OED, is the largest of the English language. The OED is a historical dictionary, which means it has a different purpose from other English dictionaries. It contains both modern and obsolete ones. This is useful for studying etymology and interpreting historical writings. The creation of the OED began in the late 19th century. It was inspired by comprehensive dictionaries of other languages, such as Deutsches Wörterbuch, a dictionary compiled by the brothers Grimm. The original OED relied on words and quotes mailed in by volunteers. The first volume of the dictionary took five to finish. This volume only included words up to “ant”. James Murray, the editor of the first published volumes, died before the entire OED was . The current edition contains 20 volumes and over 600,000 defined words.

Comprehension questions

See answers below

1. The OED is considered
   a. a modern dictionary
   b. an obsolete dictionary
   c. a historical dictionary
   
2. It took five years to complete
   a. the entire 10-volume first edition of the OED
   b. the first volume of the OED, containing words up to “ant”
   c. the process of compiling words and quotes from volunteers
   
3. James Murray was
   a. the volunteer who submitted the most words to the OED
   b. the linguist who came up with the idea of a comprehensive dictionary
   c. the editor of the OED’s first published volumes

Discussion/essay questions

1. Where do you usually look for definitions of words? Do you think printed dictionaries are becoming obsolete?
2. The OED was developed as a descriptive dictionary, which means it describes how people actually use words. Earlier English dictionaries were often prescriptive, which means their goal was to define a “correct” way of using words. Which approach do you think is better? Are both useful? Why?

Transcript

The Oxford English Dictionary, or OED, is the largest dictionary of the English language. The OED is a historical dictionary, which means it has a different purpose from other English dictionaries. It contains both modern definitions and obsolete ones. This is useful for studying etymology and interpreting historical writings. The creation of the OED began in the late 19th century. It was inspired by comprehensive dictionaries of other languages, such as Deutsches Wörterbuch, a German dictionary compiled by the brothers Grimm. The original OED relied on words and quotes mailed in by volunteers. The first volume of the dictionary took five years to finish. This volume only included words up to “ant”. James Murray, the editor of the first published volumes, died before the entire OED was complete. The current edition contains 20 volumes and over 600,000 defined words.

Answers to comprehension questions

1c 2b 3c