Neologisms in Online British-English versus American-English Dictionaries

Page 545-557
Author Sharon Creese
Title Neologisms in Online British-English versus American-English Dictionaries
Abstract A common source of publicity for modern-day dictionary publishers is the regular (usually quarterly) release of lists of neologisms that have recently been added to their online dictionaries. The publishing of updated versions of these sites every few months means it may no longer take years for new words to be included in a dictionary. However while different dictionaries may utilize neologisms in similar ways in order to improve brand awareness, the way in which these new words are presented and used in the dictionaries themselves can vary widely, including amongst those of differing varieties of English. This paper will describe differences in the approach and treatment of British-English neologisms in online editions of British-English dictionary OED (the Oxford English Dictionary) and American-English dictionary Merriam-Webster. In particular, the way in which each dictionary responds to potential new words will be discussed, as will the comprehensiveness of the resulting new entries and the differences found in the types of information each contains.
Session NEOLOGISMS
Keywords neologism, lexicography, dictionaries, dictionary components, British-English, American-English, OED, Merriam-Webster
BibTex 
@InProceedings{ELX2018-044,
	author={Sharon Creese},
	title={Neologisms in Online British-English versus American-English Dictionaries},
	pages={545-557},
	booktitle={Proceedings of the XVIII EURALEX International Congress: Lexicography in Global Contexts},
	year={2018},
	month={jul},
	date={17-21},
	address={Ljubljana, Slovenia},
	editor={Jaka Čibej, Vojko Gorjanc, Iztok Kosem, Simon Krek},
	publisher={Ljubljana University Press, Faculty of Arts},
	isbn={978-961-06-0097-8}, }
Download