Dictionaries and Word Sources Exercise

 

 

Directions

 

If possible, work in small groups for this exercise (preferably groups of 2 or 3). Each group should submit one assignment with all names clearly at the top. Make sure your group thoroughly discusses your answers. Answer 5 of the following questions. Give the answer to each question, complete citations for the information found, and any other details about your search, e.g. where you looked unsuccessfully, problems you found with a source, etc. For some of these questions you may find the answer, or parts of the answer in a number of sources. Please note discrepancies between sources. Save time: look for each of these items as you examine a given source.

Members of the group presenting Dictionaries in class do not need to complete this assignment.

Submit your answers via Blackboard. All members of a group should submit this assignment: if you do not submit an assignment, Blackboard will allow me to give you a grade, but not narrative feedback.

 

 

Questions

 

For questions 1-6: compare three or more of the standard abridged desk dictionaries: American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Webster’s College Dictionary, Webster’s New World College Dictionary, and Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. It is not necessary to use the absolutely newest edition. For example the Random House Webster’s is in the SILS Library but there is an earlier edition in Davis Reference.

 

  1. In examining the abridged dictionaries, look up 2 slang terms such as cheesecake, fuzz, funky, or redneck, for example, and notice the various treatments.

  2. Look up a "strange word," one you never really understood − and try the dictionaries for clarity and pronunciation.

  3. Look up a word you think you know and try the various dictionaries for definitions. Which is the best in providing clarity?

  4. Look up a common word like "car" or "kitchen" and figure out the word’s origin and history as described in the various dictionaries.

  5. Look up two words very close in meaning to see how the dictionaries discriminate. These can be common words like, for example, "sad" and "melancholy," or slang terms like, for example, "wonk" and "boffin."

  6. How easy is it to understand the phonetic (pronunciation) system and its explanation in each dictionary?

For questions 7-9: Compare & contrast.

  1. Compare information given in the abridged dictionaries for words looked up in questions 1-4 with that given in the unabridged dictionaries, Random House Dictionary of the English Language or Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language. What are the primary differences?

  2. Which major abridged dictionary would you buy if you could only have one? Why?

  3. Is there a subject-oriented dictionary that is important to your pathfinder topic? If so, which one? Why? If not, which ones did you consider? You might want to look in Balay’s Guide to Reference books or do a search under your subject and the subheading "dictionaries" in the online catalog.

For questions 10-19: Answer the questions using any appropriate source(s).

  1. I was watching the movie The Blues Brothers recently, and I wondered, what is the origin of the phrase "hell bent for leather"?

  2. A friend of mine calls a rubber band an elastic. What part of the US is she probably from?

  3. The Medical Library Association is referred to as MLA. What is another organization known as MLA?

  4. Approximately when did the term stooge come into the English language? Provide at least one meaning of this word.

  5. A flock is a group of animals that live, travel or feed together. For instance, a group of peacocks is a muster, a sounder is a herd of wild hogs. What other collective terms describe groups of animals and what animals do these terms describe?

  6. When Wyclif wrote in 1382 about the librarijs of the king, he was not referring to rooms full of books. What did he mean?

  7. What are the differences in usage between the words "recollect", "remember" and "recall"?

  8. From the travelogue writer’s description I can’t visualize an okapi. Could you locate a picture of this African animal?

  9. What is "linguistics" and what does a linguist study?

  10. What are the correct pronunciations of the following words: "creek," "hors-d’oeuvre," and "route"?

  11. What are those little spheres called that make up fruits like raspberries, blackberries, etc.?

Grading

 

5 points per question = 25 points total

Your answer to each question will be evaluated according to the following rubric. I will assign one point for each item, per question:

  1. You found the answer to the question.
  2. You found the answer in appropriate sources, and used more than one source.
  3. You discuss the details of the answer you found, including disambiguating any ambiguities in the question.
  4. You discuss the details of the sources you used: features, pros and cons, what the sources included and did not include, appropriate evaluation criteria, etc.
  5. You discuss the details of your searching process, for and within each source.